It is a common perspective of Asian Americans to feel like therapy is an ineffective practice when applied to them. To quote the character Danny Cho of the Netflix show Beef, "Western therapy does not work on Eastern minds". Whether you find value in that statement or not, it does not change that this is an idea that is shared among many Asian Americans. Culture makes up a significant part of a person's identity. When the impact of culture on a person is ignored, an aspect of what makes up that person is ignored. It would be understandable that therapy that is standardized from a Eurocentric perspective may not be effective in treating someone who grew up outside of the "traditional standard" of Western culture. In a study titled Effects of Mental Health Interventions With Asian Americans: A Review and Meta-Analysis the authors found that cultural tailoring significantly enhances treatment outcomes, suggesting that cultural considerations are vital for optimal therapeutic impact for Asian Americans (Huey & Tilley, 2018). This article demonstrates the importance for counselors to practice cultural humility and strive to better understand cultures outside of their own. My hope is that the following resource will foster conversation that expands your perspective, and you are able to critically reflect on your role as a therapist.

In Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, Cathy Park Hong explores the conflicting emotional reality of Asian American Identity, Racial Trauma, and the feeling of growing up in a country that does not take your existence into account. If you are a counselor who is working with a Korean American, Asian American, or any client who has lived experience as a POC immigrant in America. This book will provide valuable personal insight and understanding of the psychological and emotional challenges that are often experienced by Asian Americans. While this book is from the perspective of one person, and one person's experience cannot represent an entire population’s, to assume the themes in these essays would not be applicable to other Asian Americans would be a willfully ignorant assessment of the text. Minor Feelings is a vulnerable and brutally authentic expression of Cathy Park Hong's experience as an Asian American Woman. While this book is insightful and thought-provoking, acting as a great resource for the education of Asian American history, as well as valuable socio and psychological perspectives. Minor Feelings is also effortlessly enjoyable to read. Cathy Park Hong does a tremendous job expressing herself and her experiences through these essays. There is not a wasted word in this book, and the way she writes makes you eager to read what she is going to say next, culminating in a piece of work that is difficult to put down. 

If you are someone who practices therapy, I urge you to read Minor Feelings as well as engage with the worksheet below with other counselors who aim to expand their cultural awareness. Treating this as a book club among your peers is an enjoyable way to get the most out of these readings. The worksheet that I have created contains questions based on five of Cathy Park Hong's essays written for the book Minor Feelings. Taking from various central themes for each of them. These essays are titled: United, The End of White Innocence, Bad English, Portrait of an Artist, and The Indebted. While the entirety of Minor Feelings is incredibly written and vital in its own right, I found that these specific essays are essential to understanding certain themes and recurring experiences that are common among Asian Americans and relevant to the cultural context of Asian American Psychology. Please take part in reading each of these chapters after reading each essay, and discuss the respective question among your fellow counselors.

Support Cathy Park Hong and purchase Minor Feelings here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605371/minor-feelings-by-cathy-park-hong/