At Prism Wellness Counseling
We provide effective psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and groups.
Our services include but are not limited to:
• Academic Stress & Performance-All Levels • Trauma/Abuse • Depression and Anxiety • Chronic Illness Support • Addiction & Recovery • Domestic Violence
• Codependency • Couple Therapy/Marital Conflict/Infidelity • Conflict Resolution
• Cultural Issues • Sports Performance (E-sports included) • Parenting/Single Parenting • Life Transitions & Adjustments • Identity/Gender/LGBTQ Issues • Immigration Evaluation • Childhood / Adolescence • Grief and Loss • Relationship Struggles • Family Conflict Divorce Recovery/Blended Families • Adoption • Parenting • Women/Men Issues
We can help you tackle just about anything life throws at you.
Allow us to match you with the right therapist today.
Multicultural Issues
Relating across different or mixed cultures can be really challenging.
We live in a rich, diverse part of the world. But when our values and norms differ or conflict with those around us, we can feel misunderstood, frustrated, isolated, or lonely. No matter how fluent you are in the languages and behaviors of the cultures you straddle, code switching between them can be exhausting, and you might feel like you never fully belong anywhere. Sometimes you might not identify with parts of your culture of origin, and may feel a sense of shame or anger about it. Other times, you might identify a lot with your culture of origin, but feel like others around you don’t understand or may even stigmatize your values and beliefs. Cultural differences can exacerbate the struggles we have in our social circles, families, relationships, or work.
Multicultural Issues within Families
Whether you are an immigrant yourself or the child of immigrant parents, the culture gap that immigrant families experience can widen the generation gap. Different generations may have vastly different ideals about the roles of family members or the appropriate level of involvement in each other’s lives. Therapy may be unfamiliar or stigmatized in your culture of origin, and it may seem strange or scary to open yourself up to an unfamiliar person and share your personal and familial history with them. Blended families can struggle to balance the different cultures involved.
Multicultural Issues within Relationships
Trying to relate to a partner or spouse who is from a different culture can sometimes be difficult. Your partner may have very different ideas about authority, gender relations, familial relationships, or simply a culturally different communication style. It can be bewildering when what seems normal and acceptable to you seems strange and foreign to them. We can end up feeling unseen, unappreciated, or get into arguments that feel unfair and unresolvable. Trying to get to the content of an argument can be difficult if your argument styles are so different you end up missing each other in translation.
Multicultural Issues in Work Environments
Cross cultural issues at work can be particularly stressful because we are often most socially and emotionally constrained at work. Yet how you relate at work makes real impact on your source of livelihood. You might feel like your cultural presentation or communication style is not appreciated by your boss or coworkers, or is holding you back in your career. You may end up feeling like you have to behave in ways that don’t feel natural to you in order to fit in.
Multicultural Issues in Therapy
It is important to have a therapist who deeply understands the cultural nuances you bring into therapy. Having both a personal cross cultural background and extended education in cross cultural issues helps me understand and empathize in a unique way with your perspective. My job as a therapist will be to help you explore how your cultural background has shaped who you are, influences your relationships, and help you negotiate the subtle, often unspoken differences between your cultures.
