Healing the Tigress
A podcast that focuses on conversations & stories around Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) maternal mental health, hosted by Taiwanese American mothers Peggy (LCSW, PMH-C) & Jasmine (PharmD, PMH-C) who are also postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety survivors.
Mental health is not talked about enough in our AAPI communities, and we want to break these stigmas especially for mothers and partners. As AAPI healthcare providers who personally struggled during postpartum and are now perinatal mental health certified, we want to see more representation of other AAPI parents who know how important it is to take care of our mental health.
We talk with AAPI guests about a variety of themes in mental health and parenting, particularly what that looks like through the lens of our culture within the Western world. There are also discussions with professionals in the field, to help our providers and allies. We're not afraid to talk about the hard things that might seem taboo. We hope this podcast reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles as an AAPI parent!
Healing the Tigress
Ep. 38 - Permission to Break Generational Cycles with Dr. Jenny T. Wang, PhD
May is AAPI Heritage Month and also Maternal Mental Health month, and what better cross section to represent these things than our podcast! For this special month, we have the absolute pleasure and honor of interviewing Dr. Jenny T. Wang, PhD. Many of you may know of Dr. Jenny, but for those who do not, she is a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist speaker, and author on the intersections of Asian American identity, mental health, and intergenerational trauma.
We were able to talk to Dr. Jenny about her own experiences with her mental health during her postpartum periods, as well other topics on parenting and breaking generational cycles. In this episode, we also discuss:
- How to start doing the inner work to heal your inner child before one can break generational cycles
- What is the inner child?
- How to stop self-sacrificing 100% so you can balance valuing your children AND your hobbies, career, and other relationships
- How to preserve some of our AAPI cultural values while parenting in a way that feels better to us
- How to resist the "tiger mom" impulses to criticize and judge our children
- How to have the self-compassion and wisdom to prioritize our mental health as children of immigrants who did not have this modeled to us
- What we can be doing to help our AAPI youth in their mental health as according to CDC data from 2018–2022, "suicide was the leading cause of death among Asian Americans aged 15–24, and the second leading cause of death among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders"
Dr. Jenny's answers are thought-provoking, profound, and wise, and we hope that you will enjoy this conversation as much as we found it healing too. This is one to bookmark to come back to over and over again!
Find more of Dr. Jenny Wang:
Instagram: @asiansformentalhealth
Website: www.jennywangphd.com
Book: Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans
Dr. Jenny founded the Instagram community Asians for Mental Health (@asiansformentalhealth), spearheaded several mental health directories like Asians for Mental Health therapist directory, and wrote a best selling book in 2022 titled Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans. Dr. Jenny is also an advisor on the mental health advocacy board of Wondermind, a mental health media company co-founded by Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pierson. She is also an advisory member of the Mental Health Coalition created by Kenneth Cole and on the academic advisory board for the Asian American Foundation focusing on AAPI youth mental health. She has been seen on Good Morning America, New York Times, the Today Show, NBC, NPR, and more.
Resources:
- Asians for Mental Health Therapist Directory
- Beyond the Surface: Understanding Mental Health Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth (new 2024 research)
Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or profession
Heart to Heart Parents: Mindful Tools for Raising Spiritual and Conscious KidsA space for conscious parents to connect spiritually and mindfully with their kids
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify