AAPA Statement on Israel/Palestine is here.
Thank you to all the editors, reviewers, and contributors who recognized the need and value for this area of scholarship. Table of contents here
The Steve Fund and the University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity convened a team of experts in Asian American/Pacific Islander history, college students and mental health.
This committee has outlined a set of recommendations that colleges and universities adopt to better support their Asian American and Pacific Islander college student community.
The full report, Addressing Asian American/Pacific Islander College Students’ Mental Health Needs: Expert Recommendations, can be read by clicking the link here.
Expert Committee Members:Linh An, Multilingual Learner Specialist for the Hunter College AANAPISI Project; Shyam Gadwal, Vice President of Programs at APIA Scholars; Marcia Liu, Hunter College AANAPISI Project Mental Health Specialist; Sam Museus, Professor of Education Studies at UC San Diego; Anmol Satiani, Assistant Director for Clinical Training at DePaul University; Ian Shin, Assistant Professor of History and American Culture at the University of Michigan; Marie Ting, Associate Director of National Center for Institutional Diversity; Sasha Zhou, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Wayne State University
Watch this video about Anti-Asian Hate & the Mental Health Crisis on College Campuses here
Thanks to Marcia Liu, who shared this information and permitted us to help disseminate.
December 2, 2021
The Asian American Psychological Association is deeply saddened and repulsed by the latest example of White Supremacy evidenced by the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial. While we are encouraged to see convictions in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, let us not forget that were it not for the work of activists and the Arbery family there would not have been an opportunity for accountability in the first place. The only difference between the past and our current state of affairs is that despite being pervasive across media outlets and social media streams, systems of oppression and anti-Blackness are disregarded and denied rather than dismantled. The message from the criminal justice system is clear – Whites are shielded from culpability, while Blacks are punished to the full extent of the law. This is unacceptable and will always be unacceptable.
AAPA will continue to stand in solidarity with our Black siblings and strive for justice within and outside of our community. The gravity of the situation is not lost on us. It is our hope to find ways to be agents of change by going above and beyond providing statement after statement filled with emotions. As an action of support, we vow to remain steadfast in reviving our social justice task force that will include as its focus raising awareness of the ways in which anti-Blackness has permeated our communities and taking action to uproot this. We also pledge to allocate funding to support the work of our members in the areas of advocacy and social justice. We acknowledge the importance of community building and will work to strengthen our relationships with our fellow Ethnic Psychological Associations by implementing organizational action through collaboration. We are committed to maintaining dialogue and building awareness, both of which are essential to supporting the change process. As such, we will establish a consistent and dedicated space to address issues of social justice at our annual convention.
As research and our experiences remind us, repeated exposure to past and present traumas (both direct and vicarious) leads to significant emotional and physical distress. It is vital during this time to take steps to address this, both individually and as a community to support one another in our shared sorrow. We at AAPA stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and welcome the opportunity to join together in actualizing a world where this is our reality.
Past AAPA Statements:
AAPA Reaffirms Solidarity with Black Lives Matter during Pandemic of Racism
See .pdf version of statement here
The Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) enthusiastically supports the Mental Health Workforce and Language Access Act of 2021. Asian Americans have historically had among the lowest rates of mental health service utilization across all racial/ethnic groups and continue to face systemic barriers to access mental health services. The COVID-19 pandemic and surge in anti-Asian racism have raised mental health as a priority concern in many Asian American communities, with 4 in 10 Asian Americans experiencing acute psychological distress at this time. Improving language access to mental health services, particularly in trusted community-based settings, is a key pathway to getting Asian Americans the mental health services they need and deserve now and into the future.
Check out release by Congresswoman Meng here