PRI: Asian American Mental Health and Palo Alto Suicides
I have an article published at PRI.org’s Global Nation this week that is the culmination of some research into the work of Asian Americans in the mental health field after the tragic teen suicide clusters in Palo Alto. Like many Silicon Valley communities, Palo Alto has a sizable (40% and growing) population of Asian Americans, including many hapas, and that racial breakdown is reflected amongst the youths who have committed suicide over the past few years.
Recently I went to observe a workshop where psychiatrists from Stanford University staged vignettes to teach parents how to keep the lines of communication open with their teens so they can be aware of any mental health needs. I also interviewed several other mental health providers who are actively working for cultural inclusion as the community seeks solutions to prevent these tragedies.
Read my piece The CDC is investigating a cluster of teen suicides in Palo Alto at PRI or listen to me on the radio talking about this with Marco Werman on The World (it’s about 40 minutes into the program).
