Author: Mona Klausing
Desis and Therapy
One of my formative experiences as a grad student studying to be a therapist more than a decade ago happened at my very first therapy conference in San Francisco. I was so excited to travel to a professional event in the field with my classmates (3 women identifying as Latina, multracial and white). When we arrived, I recall very vividly that my classmates and I were among the only therapists / students of color in a 300+ person conference. This was disappointing but not a complete surprise as I knew the therapy field was even less diverse than the high tech field I had just left.
Over the past ten years, I have committed myself to training and mentoring therapists of color and also to meeting the needs of clients of color who want to work with someone with whom they may share some cultural understanding. This has been increasingly important as more communities of color turn to therapy to support major life transitions, relational challenges and mental illnesses. The South Asian online journal, The Juggernaut, covered this topic recently on how therapy is becoming more mainstream for 2nd gen Desis in the US. The issue of mental health which has been a taboo subject in many Desi households has been increasingly in the spotlight since the pandemic began and tele-therapy entered the mainstream. While Desi millennials seemingly have an easier time embracing therapy (in fact my practice has exploded with referrals in the past year), our elders, parents, aunties, could also benefit from working with a trained, culturally-competent professional in a confidential, therapeutic space.
Although my personal schedule is booked through the end of this year, I know many talented colleagues that I regularly refer to and there are many Desi therapists listed on SouthAsianTherapists.org and InclusiveTherapists.com. It’s time to tear down the stigma around therapy and treat it as we do many other disciplines – from coaching to legal advice to financial planning – where we consult someone with experience in the field to inform our decisions and life plans.
© 2021 MonaKlausing.com
