Empowering New York’s Asian American Community Since 1989

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Mental Health

Ensuring Better Mental Health Care Services for our Community

All Asian Americans deserve access to culturally competent mental health care. AAF is committed to increasing the awareness of and reducing stigma around mental health issues in Asian American families. Our goal is to make sure every Asian American in New York city who needs mental health care is able to receive it in a language they speak, from providers who understand Asian cultures.

Since 2017, AAF has been effective in increasing Asian American access to culturally competent mental health services. Our advocacy, research, and efforts to increase funding, have brought attention and resources to our community’s growing mental health care needs, as well as helped to remove barriers to seeking mental health care.

AAF recently launched an online Mental Health Directory that features hundreds of providers who speak over 17 Asian languages. The directory is part of AAF’s efforts to help our Asian New Yorkers find culturally relevant mental health help and find providers to fit their needs, whether that means counseling, education, or the many different ways that our communities seek mental well-being.

LATEST HIGHLIGHTS

ABC TV: Asian American Hate Crimes May Lead to Mental Health Crisis
NBC: The Mental Health Toll of Being a Model Minority

WSJ: Advocates Push for Better Mental-Health Care for Asian New Yorkers

They laud ThriveNYC program for raising awareness, but say it lacks programs meeting unique cultural needs of city’s Asians.   The case last month of an allegedly mentally-ill Asian woman charged with stabbing several people has highlighted what advocates say […]

Latest Research

Our pathbreaking report “Overcoming Challenges to Mental Health Services for Asian New Yorkers” (NY: 2017) based on a year-long study of mental healthcare needs, access, and resources in NYC’s Asian American communities, has reached 25,000 people to date.

Overcoming Challenges to Mental Health Services for Asian New Yorkers (2017)

Overcoming Challenges to Mental Health Services for Asian New Yorkers (2017)

This report highlights the four major challenges to mental health services for Asian New Yorkers: 1) the lack of awareness and acceptance of mental health due to social stigma and a clash in values; 2) shortage of linguistically and culturally […]

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