#12: Psychologist on Systemic Therapy / 跟心理師聊家庭治療

Taiwanese Diaspora 台灣人 Podcast

(Episode is in Chinese and English / 這集用國語和英文聊)

I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Geri Tien (田乃潔 博士) today about mental health and her focus on using systemic therapy to work with first and second generation family members. Born in Taiwan, she knew at young age she wanted to be a therapist. To do so required her to get at least a Master's degree, which brought her to the US. Today, she works and practices in Colorado, where she's one of a handful of licensed therapists conversant in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Taiwanese.

Topics discussed:

- How did she pick psychology, and specifically systemic / family therapy, as an area of study, especially considering that mental health is a taboo topic in Taiwan?

- Systemic / Family Therapy as a tool for discussing challenging topics between 1st and 2nd generation family members: career choices, boundaries, expectations, etc.

- How to talk about therapy and mental health issues with family?

- High vs low-context cultures

- 1st vs 2nd generation immigrants and perspectives on career selection: is it a cultural phenomenon or a consequence of immigrant struggles?

- Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Asian families express love through cooking and food. Rooting in basic material stability before pursuing spiritual happiness.

Contact Geri by email: GeriTien AT apdc.org.

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Say hi! 來打招呼！If you are curious or have an interest in exploring other mental health related topics on this podcast, send me a note!

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