Asian

Return to Cultures.

Historical and Cultural Background
Asian Americans ahve a very diverse background depending on their family of origin. This guide will focus its efforts on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures.

Chinese Americans consist of the largest Asian American group in the US. Many came over to America in the mid 1800's for work and wealth. However, in 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to prevent Chinese from immigrating to the US unless they were a student, merchant, or diplomat. The Scott Act of 1888 followed, permanently banning Chinese laborers from entering the US. In was not until 1943 when these acts were repealed.

Until 1853, Japan was a closed country. Once Japan opened their borders they began trade with the US. However, in 1941 Pear Harbor was attacked by Japan which lead the US entering into WWII. Japanese Americans at the time were imprisoned in internment camps by the Executive Order 9066. It was not until 1988 did reparations to the Japanese American occur.

Korean culture shares many similarities with that of China, but they still hold distinct customs, religion, and art. In the early 1900's Korea was heavily controlled by Japan for some time which lead many Koreans to flee the country, hearing about a chance to have a better life in America.

Values and Social Customs
Asians value harmony. This can be seen through harmony between humans and nature, but they also strive for harmony in the home. As such, Asians will celebrate family and community accomplishments over individual achievements. They are more emotionally restrained, interpersonal-sensitive, and respectful of elders than mainstream American culture.

Common Customs and Values

 * Eye contact - Direct eye contact lasting longer than a second or two is avoided, especially with a superior.  Maintaining direct eye contact considered rude.


 * Gestures - Hand gestures are usually kept close to the body and are restrained.


 * Identity orientation - A person’s identity and status are intimately tied their family.  In Japan this sense of obligation may be extended to the company one works for.


 * Pacing and pause time - Normally the pause employed is somewhat longer than that of Americans. In America, a pause often means it’s the other person’s turn to talk. To Asians a pause can mean simply that the speaker is taking a second to accentuate a point or formulate his or her thoughts before continuing.  It would be considered rude to interrupt during pauses.


 * Touch - In public settings, touch is often so rare as to be virtually non-existent.  In one study, which measured from, to whom, and where on the body touch was allowed, Japanese college students received less touch from mothers and other family members than U.S. Americans received from casual acquaintances.


 * Vocal patterns - A relatively quiet and low-key vocal pattern is the ideal.  The overt expression of emotion is considered unseemly and childish.

Family
Asian cultures often place a high value on family, but a client's relationship with their parents (and other relatives) might be strained for a number of reasons. These can include a parent’s perceived sense of rejection of heritage because their child has married outside of their culture. The parents may also feel that the client has become too American, and forgotten their cultural heritage. Encouraging clients to communicate their expectations with their parents can help reconcile these differences and strengthen the client's support system.

Counseling Methods and Considerations
Asians see pursuing professional help regarding mental health issues as personal weakness. It is very unlikely for an Asian to seek therapy. They tend to link the mind, body, and soul together to explain all health conditions. This means they are more likely to seek help from a medical doctor than a counselor for mental health issues.

Asian American clients can come from a wide range of different cultures and backgrounds, but there are some basic principles that may help the culturally minded counselor to better minister to Asian individuals, couples, and families. It is common for an American to misinterpret a common gesture, like a smile or a nod, as agreement when the Asian client is actually confused or even resistant to treatment. Avoiding the use of yes/no questions is also very important. Keep in mind that Asians will often be reluctant to complain or ask for an explanation, out of respect. Also, Asian families may desire group consensus before committing to a treatment or a goal. This can be frustrating for American counselors, but building trust with Asian families often depends on understanding how important this aspect of their culture is.

Recommended Model
Behavioral approaches, like Brief, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), are recommended for Asian clients because these approaches are directive and involve action. Also, behavioral approaches do not emphasize the exploration of why a person feels the way they do, which can tend to enhance the “shame” that an Asian client may experience as a result of going to a counselor.

Marital Therapy
Marriages are traditionally arranged by parents. In most Asian families the husband assumes the role of leader and provider and the wife is the homemaker and child bearer. Physical expressions of affection are uncommon so the counselor will need to ask questions in order to determine how support or affection is shown between the couple. However, divorce is rare since it is so shunned by the culture and the family.

Family Therapy
The use of family therapy is strongly recommended for Asian clients for two reasons:  First, in Asian culture the family unit is more important than the individual person. Second, Asian clients often expect therapists to share all information regarding treatment issues with all their family members anyways. It’s often just more practical to work with the family. It is important to remember though, that although it is generally assumed that Asian clients are likely to prefer to involve their families in their treatment, the counselor must carefully evaluate this issue with each Asian client. As a general rule family therapy must be problem focused, goal oriented, and symptom relieving.

Effective Witnessing
Since Asian Americans make up an incredibly diverse racial group, it is important to treat each person you interact with as an individual with their own unique story. Building personal relationships with Asian Americans by listening to their story, thoughts on faith, and sharing life with them will allow the friendship to grow naturally. Value their time by first investing time into them and the opportunity to become partners in the Gospel will prevent itself.

When trying to minister and witness to an Asian American, one important cultural difference to be aware of before and after a conversion to Christianity, is the emphasis some Asian cultures place on shame. When Asian Americans experience shame they may think they’re experiencing healthy guilt or even repentance. It is important to help those we minister to see the difference. Shame breeds more shame, and does nothing to draw one closer to God. It is about self-punishment and focusing on oneself, instead of God.