This SA survivor is making mental healthcare more equitable and accessible for Pan-Asian communities
Carrie Zhang, founder of the Asian Mental Health Project, is an advocate for mental health equity, focusing on the intersections of her identity. A bisexual, cisgender woman and survivor of sexual violence, she is dedicated to creating inclusive care spaces for AANHPI and LGBTQIA+ individuals, as well as survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Carrie grew up in Southern California and is the daughter of Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants.
Currently, Carrie also works in public policy research at a civil rights organization, helping everyday people write laws. Carrie's work has been featured in Vogue, TIME, and CNN. Her work has been recognized by A24, through an auction by the Academy Award-Winning movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
What does feminism mean to you?
Feminism to me is to dismantle and deconstruct the systems and impact of patriarchy. Feminism means to expand and challenge our experiences beyond gender to build a world where all are cared for, and all are liberated.
As intersectional feminists, we’re curious to know your thoughts: how can intersectionality as a framework and a practice, positively impact mental health care?
In my opinion, intersectionality must be centered in the practice of mental healthcare and in creating new systems of care. Institutional practices of therapy have historically been male-dominated and inhumane - often utilized to isolate those experiencing mental health challenges.
For example, women were often diagnosed with “hysteria” which was once known as a “female-only” mental and physical illness. Hysteria was used as a catch-all diagnosis to dismiss the very real pain that women felt. This was only just removed in the American Manual of Mental Health Disorders in the 1980s, and being “hysterical” is a term often used to dismiss and discredit women today.
Today, we need to uplift and center intersectional frameworks in mental healthcare by considering and learning from intersectional identities. In the mental health field, we talk so much about cultural humility and cultural specificity. This is because factors such as culture, upbringing, gender experiences and more deeply impact our mental health and therefore, these factors must be interweaved in the way we address mental health care. A framework of intersectionality would help us bring adaptive and holistic care to every person.
We are so inspired by your work at the Asian Mental Health Project. What inspired you to create this mental health resource specifically for the Asian community?
To be honest, rage and the search for community. In college, I was sexually assaulted by multiple people, though I didn’t know it at the time. It was not until I went to the school gynecologist. She asked me what brought me in here and I tried to brush off my discomfort with a joke. Instead of laughing like I had expected her to, she immediately called the student mental health center and I was placed into therapy for people who experienced sexual violence.
I went from not understanding anything about mental health, to suddenly seeing a psychiatrist, a therapist, and being in a support group. I was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety. It completely turned my world upside down. But what was most surprising was that the traumatic incident that got me in therapy was not the biggest part of my condition to unpack - it was my relationship with my culture and identity.
When I left college, I was searching for answers. Asian American mental health? Asian American youth… woman… trauma? The Google search bar received my most intimate fears. But I could not find anything. I was so angry and frustrated. Then I realized, okay - I have a degree in public relations. That’s all about making information easier to understand and more approachable for the general public, people like me who don’t know where to start.
So, I embarked on a personal research project to find stories about Asian mental health and created an Instagram account to share my findings and connect with others. Then, came our incredible Asian Mental Health Project team. When the pandemic hit, we created virtual spaces to unpack these unique intersections - and we’ve been creating spaces ever since. We have had an estimated total of 5,000 aggregate attendees across our events and we hope to lower barriers of access for mental health care in the Pan-Asian community.
Community care is an important aspect of your work. What makes community care such an important aspect of mental health?
Community care is such an important aspect of mental health as we cannot heal in isolation. The basis of community care is that our well-being is intrinsically tied to one another. Community care calls to existence as a collective, rather than isolating the individual to care for themselves alone. Many modern mental health solutions call for increased self care and clinical care. While self care and clinical care are important aspects of mental health, it is also important to create soft places for us to land as a community.
It is important for us to take care of one another and that entails establishing accessible solutions for people to support each other. Examples of community care that Asian Mental Health Project offers are peer support circles, free events for connection and resource sharing, and mental health assistance financial aid.
One of the goals of the Asian Mental Health Project is to make mental health more approachable. What are some of the common challenges that queer and BIPOC communities face when accessing mental health care?
Queer and BIPOC communities face a wide array of challenges when accessing mental health care such as - high cost barriers, oppression and bias deeply rooted in systems of care; lack of culturally responsive care; lack of coverage in healthcare systems; and cultural or societal stigma.
What systemic changes are needed to make mental health care more equitable and accessible?
Systemic changes needed to make mental health care more equitable and accessible include investing in community-based mental health practices, organization and protocols. This may particularly be effective through statewide policy initiatives. Then, it is important to uplift mental health professionals particularly from BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ communities, as well as create opportunities for people from low-income and other marginalized communities to pursue mental healthcare and become decision-makers. This includes increasing educational opportunities for people to engage in community care, or paving career paths for BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ people to become mental health professionals.
This is such an important election year around the world, and it’s important to keep fighting for important causes while also taking care of our mental health. What mental health advice would you give to fellow activists to avoid activism burnout??
Make rest and recovery a priority in your resistance. This election year and beyond, it is exhausting to simply navigate this world - let alone be an activist. As important as it is to have a campaign plan, I recommend creating a wellness plan too - this can include making sure that you schedule in time for lunch, or allowing yourself the time and space to fully express the complex emotions that come up when activating.
