Asian American Psychology and Psychotherapy: Intergenerational Trauma, Betrayal, and Liberation: Shin Shin Tang: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Description

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.

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

Product details

Published	21 Jun 2023
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	222
ISBN	9781538167212
Imprint	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Illustrations	3 b/w illustrations; 3 b/w photos; 4 tables; 1 textbox
Dimensions	223 x 154 mm
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

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