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Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy

Intergenerational Trauma, Betrayal, and Liberation

Shin Shin Tang

Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy: Intergenerational Trauma, Betrayal, and Liberation is an essential resource for understanding the twofold battle many Asian Americans face of anti-Asian racism and intergenerational trauma. Drawing from liberation psychology and cultural betrayal trauma theory, it rightly situates Asian American trauma in its historical and cultural context. It also presents a liberatory approach to counseling that disrupts the inherent power differential between therapist and client, and, in doing so, creates the opportunity for deeper connection and healing. Models for theory, research, practice, and social justice are richly illustrated with testimonios and case examples.

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  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 222 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-5381-6720-5 • Hardback • July 2023 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
978-1-5381-6721-2 • Paperback • June 2023 • $36.00 • (£30.00)
978-1-5381-6722-9 • eBook • June 2023 • $34.00 • (£25.00)
Subjects: Psychology / Psychotherapy / Counseling, Psychology / Clinical Psychology, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Asian American Studies, Social Science / Social Work
Courses: Psychology; Social; Psychology of Ethnicities and Racialized Groups, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Race & Ethnic Relations, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Asian American Studies, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Race, Class, Gender & Sexuality, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; General, Psychology; Social; Psychologies of Asian-Americans, Psychology; Clinical; Counseling and Therapy; Multicultural and Intersectional Counseling, Sociology; Women's Studies; Introduction to Women's Studies

Shin Shin Tang, PhD has provided psychotherapy to a wide range of Asian and Asian American communities for more than two decades, including to war refugees, adoptees, veterans, international students, immigrants, and subsequent generations. She has also conducted national and international research focusing on the intersection of trauma, gender, and culture. Dr. Tang maintains a private practice in Eugene, Oregon, the traditional homeland of the Kalapuya people. Her website shinshintang.com hosts resources for therapy with Asians and Asian Americans.

Acknowledgments

User’s Guide: Please Read Before Continuing

Perceptions of Asian Americans Quiz

Answers and More Questions

Trigger Warning and Self-Care

If You Identify as Asian or Asian American

If You Identify as Other than Asian or Asian American

Introduction: A Battle on Two Fronts

The First Front: Anti-Asian Racism

The Second Front: Intergenerational Trauma

Asian Americans Are Not Doing Okay

Barriers to Mental Health Services

(Breaking the) Code of Silence

Why Air the Dirty Laundry?

Toward a Liberation Psychology of Asian Americans

Chapter 1: The Model Minority Myth and Anti-Asian Racism, Past and Present

The Collective Lie

Are Cultural Values Responsible for Asian American Success?

Unseen Diversity: Chopsticks versus Spoons

Ethnic Diversity among Asian Americans

KJ’s Story

  • George Floyd, Racism, and Asian American Identity
  • Evolving Ethnic Identity and Relationships

Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

Economic Disparity among Asian Americans

Diversity in Generations

Historical and Intergenerational Trauma: Knowing and Remembering, Wounded and Wounding

Historical Trauma

Intergenerational Trauma

Figure 1.1

The Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre

Forgotten American Colonialism: The Philippine-American War

Figure 1.2

A Resurgence of Anti-Asian Hate

Racial Microaggressions

Summary: Moving Toward Liberation

Additional Resources

Chapter 2: Rings of Betrayal: Contextualizing Asian American Trauma

Attachment, Health, and Happiness

Social Context, Trauma, and Asian Americans

Betrayal Trauma: The Rupture of Attachment

Misoo’s Story

  • Recovering Traumatic Memories through Art

Figure 2.1: Twinkle Twinkle

Figure 2.2: I Am the Barrier

  • Publicly Disclosing Sexual Abuse
  • Experiencing Racism and Sexism

How Common Is Betrayal Trauma among Asian Americans?

Table 2.1: Rates of Betrayal Trauma among APIs

Overlooking and Forgetting Betrayal

Racism and Betrayal Trauma Theory

  • Betrayal and Shame

Sudha’s Story

Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory

Figure 2.3: Traditional Models of Trauma versus Betrayal Trauma and Cultural Betrayal Trauma

Institutional Betrayal Trauma

Institutional Betrayal, Historical Trauma, and Ethnic Identity

Japanese American Internment: “Betrayal by a Trusted Source”

Ecological Models of Trauma

An Asian American Model of Betrayal Trauma

Chronosystem: History and Time

Figure 2.4: The Rings of Betrayal Model for Asian Americans

Macrosystem: Dominant White Culture

Exosystem: Dominant Culture Institutions

Microsystem: Asian Community, Immediate and Extended Family, the Individual

Mesosystem: Community Interactions

Decolonizing Asian American Psychology

Additional Resources

Chapter 3: ACEs High or Low? Biases in Research on Child Maltreatment among Asian Americans and Asian Canadians

Adverse Childhood Experiences

ACEs and Racism

Textbox 3.1: ACE Questionnaire

Conflicting Research on ACEs

The Problems with Relying on Abuse Reports among Asian Americans

Cultural Betrayal Trauma and the Motivation to Disbelieve Survivors

Loss of Face

Self-Report Questionnaires

Child Sexual Abuse

Child Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect

Epistemological Violence in Psychology

Decolonizing Psychological Research

Additional Resources

Chapter 4: Beginning Therapy with Asian Americans: Therapist Self-Awareness and Client Worldview

Beginning with You

Implicit Bias and Internalized Racism

The Harm of Self-Ignorance

Rings of Betrayal Inventory

Instructions for Using the Rings of Betrayal Inventory

Self-Reflection Questions

Worksheet 4.1: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: Asian American Version

Worksheet 4.2: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: General Version

Worksheet 4.3: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: Shin Shin’s Example

Shin Shin’s Responses to Self-Reflection Questions

Understanding the Client’s Worldview

Shreya’s Story

  • On Being Indian American
  • Intergenerational Trauma
  • Racism
  • On Being Asian and Disabled
  • Indian Patriarchy
  • Sexual Assault
  • Mental Health and Therapy

Cam’s Story

  • Finding His Birth Mother
  • On Being Christian
  • On Parenting and Adoption Trauma

Kira’s Story

  • Ethnic Identity
  • Advocating for Adoptees
  • Adoption as Trauma

Adoption and Institutional Betrayal Trauma

Moving Toward Liberation

Additional Resources

Chapter 5: Decolonizing Therapy with Asian Americans: A Relational Cultural Approach

A Relational-Cultural Approach

Asian Americans, Psychotherapy, and Risk

Aranya’s Story

Shame, Betrayal, and Asian Americans

The Cartesian Cart: Colonialism in Counseling

Irfan’s Story: The Ethics of Compassion

Relational-Cultural Therapy: Growing through and toward Connection

Mutual Empathy and Mutual Empowerment

Empirical Support for RCT

Relational-Cultural Therapy with Asians and Asian Americans

Intersecting Identities

Jesse’s Story

  • Intergenerational Trauma
  • Listening, Shame, and the Need for a Witness
  • Using the Rings of Betrayal Model to Lessen Shame
  • Ethnic Identity, Intersectionality, and Shame
  • Growing through and toward Relationship

Combining RCT with CBT and Other Therapies

Moving Psychotherapy Toward Liberation

Additional Resources

Chapter 6: In Our Voices: Asian American Experiences in Therapy

Working with a BIPOC Therapist

Working with a White Therapist

Positive Experiences

  • Understanding Asian Culture and Family Dynamics
  • Addressing Discrimination
  • Processing Intergenerational Trauma
  • Asking Clarifying Questions
  • Supporting Client Sharing

Negative Experiences

  • Racial Microaggressions
  • Devaluing Culture
  • Devaluing Family: Transposing White Culture onto Asian Culture
  • Educating the Therapist
  • Additional Forms of Racism

How to Decolonize Therapy: Advice from Asian American Clients

Center Family

Address Client Experiences of Racism Directly

Addressing Microaggressions: Apologize and Repair

  • Moksh’s Story

Consider the Legacy of Colonialism

Appreciate the Diversity of Asian Americans

Understand the Stigma of Mental Illness

Develop a Unique Racial Justice Lens for Asian Americans

Just Ask

Be an Advocate

Additional Resources

Chapter 7: Liberating Psychology Graduate Programs: A Call to Institutional Courage

Decolonize Curriculum Content and Training Models

Institutional Betrayal of Psychology Graduate Students

Victoria’s Story

  • Cultural Betrayal
  • Sexual Harassment and Racism

The Silencing Effects of Betrayal

Institutional Cowardice

The Need for Institutional Courage

How to Practice Institutional Courage

1. Comply with the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2017c).

2. Respond sensitively to student disclosures.

3. Bear witness, be accountable, and apologize.

4. Cherish the whistleblower.

5. Conduct anonymous surveys and disseminate results.

6. Have clinicians teach clinical training courses.

7. Commit resources to steps 1–6.

The Role of the American Psychological Association

Additional Resources

References

Index

About the Author

Dr. Tang’s book is one of the first of its kind to center the voices of Asian diaspora in the context of trauma. She offers rich clinical vignettes and theoretical frameworks that help clinicians new and old develop skills to better serve their Asian American clients. I only wish a book like this had existed when I was in training.


— Jenny Wang, PhD, licensed psychologist; author of Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans


Informative, insightful, critical, and deeply personal. Shin Shin Tang masterfully integrates research and individual experiences to provide a broader perspective for those trying to navigate Asian American psychology and guidance for providers seeking to further integrate cultural understanding in their practices.


— Jedidiah Chun, LMFT, co-founder, Asian Mental Health Collective


A brilliant, practical guide to righting chronic wrongs. This wake-up call shows why every one of us—whether victim, beneficiary, enabler, or guilty bystander—must work now to stop the harm. Dr. Tang speaks truth—backed by research, ethics, and social justice—to power.


— Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP, co-author (with Melba Vasquez, Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas, & Hector Adames), Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide, Sixth Edition


Dr. Tang has written a courageous and insightful book that integrates a critical analysis of widely cited research findings, professional and personal experience, and nuanced self-reflection. I highly recommend this book to students in psychology, educators, clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about therapy with Asian Americans, especially for those interested in social justice issues.

This is not a manual book on providing therapy to a specific population—far from it. This is a book that contains both wisdom and compassion—one I wish had been available to me as an Asian American graduate student in Clinical Psychology so many years ago!

There is no other book that offers so much insight into how to provide culturally sensitive therapy to Asian American clients. This is a heartfelt, well-researched, and practical book for therapists and anyone who provides mental health care to Asian American clients.


— Jessica Murakami, PhD, clinical psychologist, Oregon State Hospital


This is a crucial book that teaches and guides us to appreciate the fullness, complexity, and nuance of Asian Americans’ experiences from historical, intersectional, holistic, relational, and liberatory perspectives. Dr. Shin Shin Tang offers us a clear and critical analysis of the dominant psychotherapy paradigms, while offering a new praxis to decolonize and humanize the therapy space for Asian American clients.


— Yunkyoung Garrison, PhD, licensed psychologist; former Asian American Psychologists newsletter editor


In Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy, Dr. Shin Shin Tang provides a critical, compassionate, and unflinching view of Asian Americans as both diverse and complexly human. Alongside identifying various forms of betrayal, violence, and oppression, Dr. Tang shares tangible, trauma-informed, and culturally congruent information that clinicians, educators, students, researchers, and others can use to co-create liberation—both within and in solidarity with the Asian American community.


— Jennifer M. Gómez, Boston University


This book takes a concise, specific dive into Asian culture as it relates to generational and historic trauma, recent hate crimes and violence, and culture betrayal trauma. As more Asian Americans seek support, current and aspiring therapists need to be up-to-date on the recent research on this topic and understand how current and past traumas can coincide and impact each person in a variety of ways. Expanding awareness on these subjects will largely contribute to improving best practices for treatment and support of communities in the Asian diaspora. Highly recommended for higher education students, anyone teaching multicultural diversity courses or trauma, and helping professionals.


— Kendra Simpson, Rio Salado College


Shin Shin Tang’s work contributes to the current conversation by focusing on trauma in a population that is not often addressed in the trauma literature and on aspects of working therapeutically with Asian Americans that moves beyond exemplification (that is, model minority trope) and exotification. I really appreciate this approach to addressing trauma and recovery, as it steps away from prescriptivism and, while focused on Asian diaspora, places Asian diaspora in a cultural context. I also appreciate the use of trauma and crosscultural counseling theories as organizing framework. The addition of historical and contemporary stories, case examples, and clinical vignettes further anchors this work's place among key texts on Asian American psychology.


— Donna C. Owens, Lesley University


This book is a courageous gift to the profession of psychology. It is important not just for clinicians but for everyone, as it calls attention to deeply established and harmful methods of helping and carves a practical path toward more inclusive and compassionate practices. In each chapter, Dr. Tang brings a collective lens to trauma and psychotherapy, highlighting voices and viewpoints that have been obscured by the dominant cultural narrative. As she examines the psychology of Asian trauma, she beautifully weaves her personal experience as a Chinese American woman with solid scholarship and clinical insight. It is exquisitely written and comes directly from the heart, bringing us closer to a psychology of liberation.


— Lori Allen, licensed psychologist, director, Oregon Mind Body Institute


Shin Shin Tang highlights the struggles encountered by Asians and Asian Americans seeking therapy in the United States, underscoring the need to decolonize Western psychology, particularly in light of the burgeoning contemporary awareness of the intersectionality of racism and intergenerational trauma that afflicts these groups. It is refreshing, and long overdue, to see emphasis placed on examining the historical and cultural contexts in trauma therapy and recovery. These contextual understandings are imperative in treating Asians and Asian Americans, especially given America's complicated imperial, colonial, and military-industrial relationships with Asian countries over the past two hundred years; these international relationships find their domestic mirror in America's long history of Orientalism and racialized Othering of Asian American communities.


— Jeannine Chandler, New York University


Seamlessly contemporary and historical, Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy provides a sociocultural analysis of intergenerational trauma, racism, and the impact of abuse and Adverse Childhood Experiences on Asian Americans. With guidance for practitioners and educators, the book includes paths to practical and urgently needed actions alongside relevant social scientific analysis. To understand the Asian diaspora and the experience of Asian Americans and Asian Canadians, read this book.


— Sadie R. Pendaz-Foster, PhD, Inver Hills Community College


  • Assessment worksheets for betrayal trauma
  • Interviews and case vignettes
  • Testimonios from Asian American clients
  • Supplemental resource lists
  • Cultural analysis of research on child maltreatment among Asian Americans and Canadians


Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy

Intergenerational Trauma, Betrayal, and Liberation

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy: Intergenerational Trauma, Betrayal, and Liberation is an essential resource for understanding the twofold battle many Asian Americans face of anti-Asian racism and intergenerational trauma. Drawing from liberation psychology and cultural betrayal trauma theory, it rightly situates Asian American trauma in its historical and cultural context. It also presents a liberatory approach to counseling that disrupts the inherent power differential between therapist and client, and, in doing so, creates the opportunity for deeper connection and healing. Models for theory, research, practice, and social justice are richly illustrated with testimonios and case examples.

Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 222 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
    978-1-5381-6720-5 • Hardback • July 2023 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
    978-1-5381-6721-2 • Paperback • June 2023 • $36.00 • (£30.00)
    978-1-5381-6722-9 • eBook • June 2023 • $34.00 • (£25.00)
    Subjects: Psychology / Psychotherapy / Counseling, Psychology / Clinical Psychology, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Asian American Studies, Social Science / Social Work
    Courses: Psychology; Social; Psychology of Ethnicities and Racialized Groups, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Race & Ethnic Relations, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Asian American Studies, Sociology; Race/Class/Gender; Race, Class, Gender & Sexuality, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; General, Psychology; Social; Psychologies of Asian-Americans, Psychology; Clinical; Counseling and Therapy; Multicultural and Intersectional Counseling, Sociology; Women's Studies; Introduction to Women's Studies
Author
Author
  • Shin Shin Tang, PhD has provided psychotherapy to a wide range of Asian and Asian American communities for more than two decades, including to war refugees, adoptees, veterans, international students, immigrants, and subsequent generations. She has also conducted national and international research focusing on the intersection of trauma, gender, and culture. Dr. Tang maintains a private practice in Eugene, Oregon, the traditional homeland of the Kalapuya people. Her website shinshintang.com hosts resources for therapy with Asians and Asian Americans.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgments

    User’s Guide: Please Read Before Continuing

    Perceptions of Asian Americans Quiz

    Answers and More Questions

    Trigger Warning and Self-Care

    If You Identify as Asian or Asian American

    If You Identify as Other than Asian or Asian American

    Introduction: A Battle on Two Fronts

    The First Front: Anti-Asian Racism

    The Second Front: Intergenerational Trauma

    Asian Americans Are Not Doing Okay

    Barriers to Mental Health Services

    (Breaking the) Code of Silence

    Why Air the Dirty Laundry?

    Toward a Liberation Psychology of Asian Americans

    Chapter 1: The Model Minority Myth and Anti-Asian Racism, Past and Present

    The Collective Lie

    Are Cultural Values Responsible for Asian American Success?

    Unseen Diversity: Chopsticks versus Spoons

    Ethnic Diversity among Asian Americans

    KJ’s Story

    • George Floyd, Racism, and Asian American Identity
    • Evolving Ethnic Identity and Relationships

    Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

    Economic Disparity among Asian Americans

    Diversity in Generations

    Historical and Intergenerational Trauma: Knowing and Remembering, Wounded and Wounding

    Historical Trauma

    Intergenerational Trauma

    Figure 1.1

    The Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre

    Forgotten American Colonialism: The Philippine-American War

    Figure 1.2

    A Resurgence of Anti-Asian Hate

    Racial Microaggressions

    Summary: Moving Toward Liberation

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 2: Rings of Betrayal: Contextualizing Asian American Trauma

    Attachment, Health, and Happiness

    Social Context, Trauma, and Asian Americans

    Betrayal Trauma: The Rupture of Attachment

    Misoo’s Story

    • Recovering Traumatic Memories through Art

    Figure 2.1: Twinkle Twinkle

    Figure 2.2: I Am the Barrier

    • Publicly Disclosing Sexual Abuse
    • Experiencing Racism and Sexism

    How Common Is Betrayal Trauma among Asian Americans?

    Table 2.1: Rates of Betrayal Trauma among APIs

    Overlooking and Forgetting Betrayal

    Racism and Betrayal Trauma Theory

    • Betrayal and Shame

    Sudha’s Story

    Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory

    Figure 2.3: Traditional Models of Trauma versus Betrayal Trauma and Cultural Betrayal Trauma

    Institutional Betrayal Trauma

    Institutional Betrayal, Historical Trauma, and Ethnic Identity

    Japanese American Internment: “Betrayal by a Trusted Source”

    Ecological Models of Trauma

    An Asian American Model of Betrayal Trauma

    Chronosystem: History and Time

    Figure 2.4: The Rings of Betrayal Model for Asian Americans

    Macrosystem: Dominant White Culture

    Exosystem: Dominant Culture Institutions

    Microsystem: Asian Community, Immediate and Extended Family, the Individual

    Mesosystem: Community Interactions

    Decolonizing Asian American Psychology

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 3: ACEs High or Low? Biases in Research on Child Maltreatment among Asian Americans and Asian Canadians

    Adverse Childhood Experiences

    ACEs and Racism

    Textbox 3.1: ACE Questionnaire

    Conflicting Research on ACEs

    The Problems with Relying on Abuse Reports among Asian Americans

    Cultural Betrayal Trauma and the Motivation to Disbelieve Survivors

    Loss of Face

    Self-Report Questionnaires

    Child Sexual Abuse

    Child Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect

    Epistemological Violence in Psychology

    Decolonizing Psychological Research

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 4: Beginning Therapy with Asian Americans: Therapist Self-Awareness and Client Worldview

    Beginning with You

    Implicit Bias and Internalized Racism

    The Harm of Self-Ignorance

    Rings of Betrayal Inventory

    Instructions for Using the Rings of Betrayal Inventory

    Self-Reflection Questions

    Worksheet 4.1: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: Asian American Version

    Worksheet 4.2: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: General Version

    Worksheet 4.3: Rings of Betrayal Inventory: Shin Shin’s Example

    Shin Shin’s Responses to Self-Reflection Questions

    Understanding the Client’s Worldview

    Shreya’s Story

    • On Being Indian American
    • Intergenerational Trauma
    • Racism
    • On Being Asian and Disabled
    • Indian Patriarchy
    • Sexual Assault
    • Mental Health and Therapy

    Cam’s Story

    • Finding His Birth Mother
    • On Being Christian
    • On Parenting and Adoption Trauma

    Kira’s Story

    • Ethnic Identity
    • Advocating for Adoptees
    • Adoption as Trauma

    Adoption and Institutional Betrayal Trauma

    Moving Toward Liberation

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 5: Decolonizing Therapy with Asian Americans: A Relational Cultural Approach

    A Relational-Cultural Approach

    Asian Americans, Psychotherapy, and Risk

    Aranya’s Story

    Shame, Betrayal, and Asian Americans

    The Cartesian Cart: Colonialism in Counseling

    Irfan’s Story: The Ethics of Compassion

    Relational-Cultural Therapy: Growing through and toward Connection

    Mutual Empathy and Mutual Empowerment

    Empirical Support for RCT

    Relational-Cultural Therapy with Asians and Asian Americans

    Intersecting Identities

    Jesse’s Story

    • Intergenerational Trauma
    • Listening, Shame, and the Need for a Witness
    • Using the Rings of Betrayal Model to Lessen Shame
    • Ethnic Identity, Intersectionality, and Shame
    • Growing through and toward Relationship

    Combining RCT with CBT and Other Therapies

    Moving Psychotherapy Toward Liberation

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 6: In Our Voices: Asian American Experiences in Therapy

    Working with a BIPOC Therapist

    Working with a White Therapist

    Positive Experiences

    • Understanding Asian Culture and Family Dynamics
    • Addressing Discrimination
    • Processing Intergenerational Trauma
    • Asking Clarifying Questions
    • Supporting Client Sharing

    Negative Experiences

    • Racial Microaggressions
    • Devaluing Culture
    • Devaluing Family: Transposing White Culture onto Asian Culture
    • Educating the Therapist
    • Additional Forms of Racism

    How to Decolonize Therapy: Advice from Asian American Clients

    Center Family

    Address Client Experiences of Racism Directly

    Addressing Microaggressions: Apologize and Repair

    • Moksh’s Story

    Consider the Legacy of Colonialism

    Appreciate the Diversity of Asian Americans

    Understand the Stigma of Mental Illness

    Develop a Unique Racial Justice Lens for Asian Americans

    Just Ask

    Be an Advocate

    Additional Resources

    Chapter 7: Liberating Psychology Graduate Programs: A Call to Institutional Courage

    Decolonize Curriculum Content and Training Models

    Institutional Betrayal of Psychology Graduate Students

    Victoria’s Story

    • Cultural Betrayal
    • Sexual Harassment and Racism

    The Silencing Effects of Betrayal

    Institutional Cowardice

    The Need for Institutional Courage

    How to Practice Institutional Courage

    1. Comply with the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2017c).

    2. Respond sensitively to student disclosures.

    3. Bear witness, be accountable, and apologize.

    4. Cherish the whistleblower.

    5. Conduct anonymous surveys and disseminate results.

    6. Have clinicians teach clinical training courses.

    7. Commit resources to steps 1–6.

    The Role of the American Psychological Association

    Additional Resources

    References

    Index

    About the Author

Reviews
Reviews
  • Dr. Tang’s book is one of the first of its kind to center the voices of Asian diaspora in the context of trauma. She offers rich clinical vignettes and theoretical frameworks that help clinicians new and old develop skills to better serve their Asian American clients. I only wish a book like this had existed when I was in training.


    — Jenny Wang, PhD, licensed psychologist; author of Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans


    Informative, insightful, critical, and deeply personal. Shin Shin Tang masterfully integrates research and individual experiences to provide a broader perspective for those trying to navigate Asian American psychology and guidance for providers seeking to further integrate cultural understanding in their practices.


    — Jedidiah Chun, LMFT, co-founder, Asian Mental Health Collective


    A brilliant, practical guide to righting chronic wrongs. This wake-up call shows why every one of us—whether victim, beneficiary, enabler, or guilty bystander—must work now to stop the harm. Dr. Tang speaks truth—backed by research, ethics, and social justice—to power.


    — Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP, co-author (with Melba Vasquez, Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas, & Hector Adames), Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide, Sixth Edition


    Dr. Tang has written a courageous and insightful book that integrates a critical analysis of widely cited research findings, professional and personal experience, and nuanced self-reflection. I highly recommend this book to students in psychology, educators, clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about therapy with Asian Americans, especially for those interested in social justice issues.

    This is not a manual book on providing therapy to a specific population—far from it. This is a book that contains both wisdom and compassion—one I wish had been available to me as an Asian American graduate student in Clinical Psychology so many years ago!

    There is no other book that offers so much insight into how to provide culturally sensitive therapy to Asian American clients. This is a heartfelt, well-researched, and practical book for therapists and anyone who provides mental health care to Asian American clients.


    — Jessica Murakami, PhD, clinical psychologist, Oregon State Hospital


    This is a crucial book that teaches and guides us to appreciate the fullness, complexity, and nuance of Asian Americans’ experiences from historical, intersectional, holistic, relational, and liberatory perspectives. Dr. Shin Shin Tang offers us a clear and critical analysis of the dominant psychotherapy paradigms, while offering a new praxis to decolonize and humanize the therapy space for Asian American clients.


    — Yunkyoung Garrison, PhD, licensed psychologist; former Asian American Psychologists newsletter editor


    In Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy, Dr. Shin Shin Tang provides a critical, compassionate, and unflinching view of Asian Americans as both diverse and complexly human. Alongside identifying various forms of betrayal, violence, and oppression, Dr. Tang shares tangible, trauma-informed, and culturally congruent information that clinicians, educators, students, researchers, and others can use to co-create liberation—both within and in solidarity with the Asian American community.


    — Jennifer M. Gómez, Boston University


    This book takes a concise, specific dive into Asian culture as it relates to generational and historic trauma, recent hate crimes and violence, and culture betrayal trauma. As more Asian Americans seek support, current and aspiring therapists need to be up-to-date on the recent research on this topic and understand how current and past traumas can coincide and impact each person in a variety of ways. Expanding awareness on these subjects will largely contribute to improving best practices for treatment and support of communities in the Asian diaspora. Highly recommended for higher education students, anyone teaching multicultural diversity courses or trauma, and helping professionals.


    — Kendra Simpson, Rio Salado College


    Shin Shin Tang’s work contributes to the current conversation by focusing on trauma in a population that is not often addressed in the trauma literature and on aspects of working therapeutically with Asian Americans that moves beyond exemplification (that is, model minority trope) and exotification. I really appreciate this approach to addressing trauma and recovery, as it steps away from prescriptivism and, while focused on Asian diaspora, places Asian diaspora in a cultural context. I also appreciate the use of trauma and crosscultural counseling theories as organizing framework. The addition of historical and contemporary stories, case examples, and clinical vignettes further anchors this work's place among key texts on Asian American psychology.


    — Donna C. Owens, Lesley University


    This book is a courageous gift to the profession of psychology. It is important not just for clinicians but for everyone, as it calls attention to deeply established and harmful methods of helping and carves a practical path toward more inclusive and compassionate practices. In each chapter, Dr. Tang brings a collective lens to trauma and psychotherapy, highlighting voices and viewpoints that have been obscured by the dominant cultural narrative. As she examines the psychology of Asian trauma, she beautifully weaves her personal experience as a Chinese American woman with solid scholarship and clinical insight. It is exquisitely written and comes directly from the heart, bringing us closer to a psychology of liberation.


    — Lori Allen, licensed psychologist, director, Oregon Mind Body Institute


    Shin Shin Tang highlights the struggles encountered by Asians and Asian Americans seeking therapy in the United States, underscoring the need to decolonize Western psychology, particularly in light of the burgeoning contemporary awareness of the intersectionality of racism and intergenerational trauma that afflicts these groups. It is refreshing, and long overdue, to see emphasis placed on examining the historical and cultural contexts in trauma therapy and recovery. These contextual understandings are imperative in treating Asians and Asian Americans, especially given America's complicated imperial, colonial, and military-industrial relationships with Asian countries over the past two hundred years; these international relationships find their domestic mirror in America's long history of Orientalism and racialized Othering of Asian American communities.


    — Jeannine Chandler, New York University


    Seamlessly contemporary and historical, Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy provides a sociocultural analysis of intergenerational trauma, racism, and the impact of abuse and Adverse Childhood Experiences on Asian Americans. With guidance for practitioners and educators, the book includes paths to practical and urgently needed actions alongside relevant social scientific analysis. To understand the Asian diaspora and the experience of Asian Americans and Asian Canadians, read this book.


    — Sadie R. Pendaz-Foster, PhD, Inver Hills Community College


Features
Features
    • Assessment worksheets for betrayal trauma
    • Interviews and case vignettes
    • Testimonios from Asian American clients
    • Supplemental resource lists
    • Cultural analysis of research on child maltreatment among Asian Americans and Canadians


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