Webinar Recordings: Racial Trauma Among Asian American & Asian Immigrant Communities

Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 11,400 hate incidents against Asian Americans reported to the national Stop Asian American and Asian Immigrant (AAAI) Hate coalition between March 2020 and March 2022. However, racism, prejudice, and acts of hate and violence towards AAAI communities have historically existed ever since members of these communities first began immigrating to the United States.

Racial stress and trauma can be caused by direct or indirect exposures to racism throughout one’s lifetime and is influenced by an accumulation of unavoidable exposures to racism across generations, communities, and history. The impact can negatively affect the mental health of many generations.

In 2023, PHI’s Lotus Project hosted a webinar series to educate on the impacts of AAAI hate and explore how to better support AAAI communities. See the recordings:

Webinar 1: Historical Context & Mental Health Impacts (2/1/2023)

This webinar and panel discussion explores the historical context of AAAI hate, its connection to current events, as well as the impact of AAAI hate and racial trauma on the mental health of youth and families. Participants learned about key concepts related to the history of racism towards the AAAI community, such as the model minority myth, and the mental health impacts of racism and trauma on AAAI children, youth, and families.

Webinar 2: Implications for Clinical Practice (4/25/2023)

This webinar takes a deeper dive into culturally sensitive and trauma-informed clinical practices and recommendations that can be implemented to best support AAAI children, youth, and families who have experienced any form of racial discrimination, stress and trauma. Participants learned how to describe trauma and mental health issues in AAAI communities due to exposure to anti-Asian hate, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; and identify cultural sensitive clinical practices to support AAAI children, youth, and families.

Webinar 3: Community Programs in Action Recording & Slides (8/16/2023)

This webinar explores specific culturally competent and trauma-informed community-based programs that have been implemented to support AAAI children, youth, and families who have experienced any form of racial discrimination, stress and trauma. Participants learned how to describe at least two community-based programs that have been developed and implemented to address trauma, mental health issues, and impacts of anti-Asian hate in AAAI communities; and identify at least two strategies on how to implement culturally competent community-based practices to support AAAI children, youth, and families.

The Lotus project aims to provide training, education, and technical assistance based on the wide-scale dissemination science and implementation of effective, evidence-based trauma-informed treatment and service approaches specific to Asian American and Asian immigrant (AAAI) populations. This work is a collaboration of two key agencies, PHI’s Health Intervention Projects for Underserved Populations and Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS).