Hard times are extra hard on Asian Americans

In today's volatile market and economic environment, it's important to reach out to people you know that might need help. According to a preliminary study by researchers from the University of California-Davis conducted by the school's Asian American Center on Disparities Research, in many Asian cultures, “suffering is accepted”. Nolan Zane, director of the center and professor of psychology continues, “You persevere despite your pain so you can again become a part of the social fabric. In Eastern cultures, the goal is not about the individual person. It's to get the person back into the collective culture. The individual is less emphasized.” In Western cultures, however, the “goal is to reduce a person's distress. The focus is on self-esteem, self-efficacy,” he said. Zane continues, “We're trying to find out what it is about a person's culture — about being Asian-American and being an ethnic minority — that often leads to dropping out at a high rate from therapy compared to whites.” For help and more information see below.

Judy Heary, executive director of the Asian Pacific Community Counseling, said that before the agency was established, “There was no real program set up for people to serve them in their own language and have a sense of understanding and sensitivity culturally.” The 30-year-old counseling agency provides services in 13 different languages (Caina Calvan, Sacramento Bee, 9/17).

For more information please visit www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports or Asian Pacific Community Counseling

Thanks to Tiffany for the heads up!