This morning, I read a fascinating article on 100 Days in Appalachia, about the cultural aspects of mental health counselling. Ariana Velasquez, the author, has both Appalachian and Asian ancestry, and yet most of the therapists she initially encountered regarded the ‘collectivist’ dynamics of one of those societies positively and the other, negatively.

“But when I tried to explain to them that my Appalachian familial dynamic was very similar to that of the Asian side of my family — almost identical, in fact — I was met with the explanation that it was different. That was a part of the Asian (specifically Filipino) culture. It is widely accepted by mental health professionals that Asian cultures are more collectivist in their mindsets. This means that we prioritize the needs of the whole, the entire family for instance, over that of an individual.”