Over the past year, the U.S. has seen a rise in hate and attacks against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March 2020, STOP AAPI Hate, a reporting center launched by San Francisco State University, Chinese Affirmative Action, and Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, has recorded over 3,800 cases of anti-Asian hate.1 Due to the uptick in violence and hate against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, AAPI-identifying mental health experts are sharing how racism has impacted the mental health of the community.
Being subject to racism not only causes bodily injury and harm toward communities of color but also impacts mental health and overall wellbeing. “I observed, especially last year, when COVID was happening, huge trends of insomnia, anxiety, feelings of depression, and hysteria,” Clarice Hassan, LCSW, a licensed therapist practicing in New York, says about her AAPI clients.
Due to cultural factors, seeking mental health help within the Asian community is not always easy — not everyone may feel comfortable accessing professional help. “People were already experiencing quite an amount of distress, racial trauma, and post-traumatic stress since the start of COVID,” says Jeanie Y. Chang, LMFT, CMHIMP, CCTP, licensed clinician, and AAPI mental health expert.
Chang and Hassan both outline resources available to help AAPI people find a therapist or seek funding for mental health care.
Read more at VerywellHealth.com.
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