Communities of Asian and Pacific Islander descent
People of Asian descent are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the U.S. by 2055. Six percent of immigrants in the U.S. are from China, 6% are from India, and 4% are from the Philippines. Over 4 million people in the U.S. are Asian in combination with another race.
The Asian Pacific Islander (API) community is made up of people from all the different parts of Asia. These communities include:
- Central Asia: Afghan, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgians, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek
- East Asia: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Tibetan
- Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands: (in the U.S. Jurisdictions & Territories) Carolinian, Chamorro, Chuukese, Fijian, Guamanian, Hawaiian, Kosraean, Marshallese, Native Hawaiian, Niuean, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Papua New Guinean, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan, Yapese
- Southeast Asia: Bruneian, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Timorese, Thai, Vietnamese
- South Asia: Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivians, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
Mental health resources for communities of Asian and Pacific Islander descent
- Take mental health test
- What is health insurance?
- Culturally-based practices
- Racial trauma
- Community care
- How to find an anti-racist therapist
- Is my therapist being racist?
- I’m angry about the injustices I see around me
- Mental Health America of Hawai'i
Blogs
- How peer support can support Asian American communities
- The guilty party: Coping with toxic guilt as a South Asian American
- Asian Americans experience sharp increase in percentages screening with severe anxiety. Why?
- Asian American mental health and the "model minority" myth
- As AAPIs, we need therapists who look like us
- 4 ways to reverse the silent mental health crisis in South Asian communities
- What to do when your (South Asian) parents don't understand your mental health
- To be the child of an immigrant
Webinars
- Asian American Health Initiative
- Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative
- Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA)
- Asian Mental Health Collective
- Asian Mental Health Project
- Asians Do Therapy
- Asians for Mental Health Directory
- Asian Pacific Community In Action
- Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Asian Pride Project
- Coming Out Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
- Desi/LGBTQ+ Helpline
- Mannmukti
- Mental Health Association For Chinese Communities
- Mustard Seed Generation
- National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
- National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
- Sakhi for South Asian Women
- South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
- South Asian Mental Health Initiative & Network (SAMHIN)
- South Asian Network
- South Asian Sexual and Mental Health Alliance
- South Asian Therapists
- Stop AAPI Hate
- The South Asian Public Health Association
- Yellow Chair Collective
- Viet Care
A note on language: Terminology around cultural identity evolves over time. These materials will primarily use "communities of Asian and Pacific Islander descent" to encompass the diversity of people from various countries, regions, and cultural backgrounds within Asia and the Pacific Islands. This includes groups that are traditionally underrepresented in API data such as South Asians and Native Hawaiians. Government and academic data cited may use additional identifiers such as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) or Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHOPI).
Take a Mental Health Test
If you are struggling with your mental health, take an anonymous, free, and private mental health test. It only takes a few minutes, and after you are finished you will be given information about the next steps you can take based on the results.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting HELLO to 741741.