The USJC Mental Wellness affinity group hosted an intimate discussion focused on mental health challenges faced by the Japanese and Japanese American communities respectively in collaboration with Anise Health, a culturally responsive digital mental health platform for the Asian community, on September 25.
Co-Founder & CEO Alice Zhang and Head of Growth Angel Wang shared insightful statistics underscoring the particular challenges of addressing mental health issues in Asian American communities and the critical need to address these challenges by drawing on our collective experiences. A key topic that emerged repeatedly was the difficulty of initiating mental health conversations within families, largely due to the social and cultural stigma prevalent in many Japanese and Japanese American households. The group discussed strategies that individuals could use to break down those barriers and foster open dialogue within their families.