Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA/PI) Community and Mental Health FACT SHEET

Did you know…
• There is very little research about mental health issues in these populations.
• Overall prevalence rates of diagnosable mental illnesses among AA/PIs are similar to those of the Caucasian population.
• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have the lowest rates of utilization of mental health services among ethnic populations.i
• AA/PIs show higher levels of depressive symptoms than whites. South Asian refugees reported the highest rates among Asian
groups. ii
• The Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiologic Study (CAPES study) found a lifetime prevalence rate of about 7 percent (lifetime)
and a 3 percent rate over one year.
• The National Comorbidity Study (NCS) reported even higher rates of major depression among Chinese Americans (17 percent for
lifetime and 10 percent current).iii
• The word depression does not exit in certain Asian languages (e.g. Chinese).
• The suicide rates for Filipino (3.5 percent), Chinese (8.3 percent) and Japanese (9.1 percent) Americans are substantially lower
than the suicide rate of white Americans (12.8 percent).iv
• Among elderly women of all ethnic or racial groups, Asians have the highest suicide rate.v
• According to mental health care providers: Asian American women ages 15-24 have a higher rate of suicide than Caucasians,
African Americans and Latinos in that age group.vi
• The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls reported that Asian American adolescent girls had the highest
rates of depressive symptoms of all racial/ethnic and gender groups.vii
• Southeast Asians suffer from particularly high rates of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and exhibit more than twice
the need for outpatient mental health services than the general Asian population. viii
• Suicide rates are higher than the national average for some groups of Asian Americans.
• The suicide rate among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California is similar to that of the total population. ix
• Many Southeast Asian refugees are at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with trauma experienced before
and after immigration to the United States.
• One study found that 70 percent of Southeast Asian refugees receiving mental health care met diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
• In a study of Cambodian adolescents who survived Pol Pot’s concentration camps, nearly half experienced PTSD and 41 percent
suffered from depression 10 years after leaving Cambodia.x
• Approximately 70 AA/PI providers are available for every 100,000 AA/PIs in the United States, compared to 173 per 100,000
Caucasians.xi
• AA/PIs appear to have the extremely low utilization of mental health services relative to other U.S. populations.
• In the CAPES study, only 17 percent of those experiencing problems sought care.xii
• A national study concluded that Asian Americans were one quarter as likely as whites to seek mental health services and half as likely as Latinos and African Americans. xiii

Created by the NAMI Multicultural & International Outreach Center June, 2003

References
i Karen L. Koh, MPH and Margaret W. Leung, MPH. Asian Pacific Psychological Services, 431 30thStreet, Suite 6A, Oakland, CA 94609
ii Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General.
iii Breaking the Silence. A Study of Depression Among Asian American Women. National Asian Women’s Health Organization, 2001.
iv Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General.
v The Surgeon Gereral’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999.
vi Monthly Vital Statistics Report. Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics; Vol. 46, No. 1. August 17, 1997
vii Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., 1997.
viii Karen L. Koh, MPH and Margaret W. Leung, MPH. Asian Pacific Psychological Services, 431 30th Street, Suite 6A, Oakland, CA 94609
ix The Surgeon Gereral’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999.
x Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General.
xi Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General.
xii Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General.
xiii Snowden, LR. African American service use for mental health problems. Journal of Community Psychology.


NAMI • The National Alliance on Mental Illness • www.nami.org • 1 (800) 950-NAMI
3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 • Arlington, VA 22203

Introduction

My name is Thomas Nguyen. I am a third year doctoral student at the University of St. Thomas (MN). It has been overdue since a blog like this started to inform the readers about mental health issues among Asian American. For some, Asian American is considered the model minority; therefore, they are immune from mental health issues. The truth is, we are still human. As an aspiring psychologist, I like to share my experience and knowledge about Asian American mental health. I am inspired to integrate my Western trained method to my Eastern philosophical upbringing. My goal is to erase mental health stigmas, bring awareness, and mental health parity to the Asian American communities. 

In the following paragraph, I like to share some information about me. This is part of a written essay for my internship application. I hope I do not offend anyone for my poor grammatical skill. After all, English is still my second language. I hope the readers can forgive me read beyond my technical faults and be able to read what I have to say.  

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I am a child of the post-Vietnam war. My father was a prisoner of war. He served in the Air Force for the Republic of South Vietnam. My mother was a high school math teacher. As a result, my siblings and I are barred from having equal education. Having endured the strict political, religious belief, economic, and educational equality, we were fortunate to immigrate to the United States in search for freedom.

After twenty years living in the United States, I can proudly say my siblings and I are among the first generation in my family to graduate from college. Also, I am proud to be among the few Vietnamese Americans pursuing a doctoral degree in counseling psychology. I am deeply indebted to the many hands that contributed to my professional growth and development.

To my parents, who had devoted their life to their children and worked tirelessly to nurture and support our siblings through college. From them, I retained my cultural practices, values, and native language. Without them, I cannot be the person that I am today. 

As a first generation immigrant, I am grateful for being exposed to acculturation and acculturative stress among refugee and immigrants. I find comfort in both cultures and am happy to be a Vietnamese American. From this experience, I am more aware of my personal biases toward any particular group and understand the challenges people of color experienced when adjusting to a new culture.

I am grateful for the University of St. Thomas for giving me the opportunity to pursue a higher education in a career path least chosen among Asian Americans. I am thankful for being trained in a highly regarded institution in the state of Minnesota. From this academic experience, I am better at integrating my Western trained knowledge to serving the diverse community. Recognizing that the current mental health system is not adequate for people of color, specifically Asian Americans, I am motivated to delivery mental health parity and erasing stigmas in these communities.

In an effort to bring Asian American mental health awareness to the profession, I am honored to co-present at the annual Minnesota Case Management conference. I also presented a poster presentation at the annual Minnesota Psychological Conference. Within the Vietnamese communities, I presented locally and nationally in an attempt to erase mental health stigmas. I am also grateful to be part of the founding member and first executive board of the Vietnamese American Psychological Association. Through them, I learned not only to be a follower but leader for my belief.

Professionally, I am grateful for my work at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Southeast Asian Services), Ramsey County Mental Health (Partial Hospitalization Program), and the University of Minnesota (University Counseling & Consulting Services) for the opportunity to hone in my clinical skills in various settings and populations. From these exposures, I learned to become client-centered and a better listener. Also, I learned to become aware of my personal background and how it comes to play during therapy.