Tackling stigma and the model minority myth is the first step to addressing the mental health needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, according to a panel of school officials and health specialists who presented during a recent webinar hosted by the Asian Pacific Islander School Board Members Association. National AAPI Heritage Month provides an extra opportunity to focus on the unique needs of AAPI students.

Nina Yuen Loc, director of behavioral health in Los Angeles’ Chinatown Service Center, recounted two stories illustrating how family support can be crucial to those seeking help. The first involved a 17-year-old girl who requested her mom allow her to seek therapy. After her mom dismissed the idea, the girl went to the school counselor, who matched her with the Chinatown Service Center, as they would best understand an AAPI family’s perspective on mental health. Through the assessment process it was discovered that this girl had active suicidal thoughts and a plan. The therapist was concerned for the girl’s safety.

Despite all this, and while the girl’s mother consented at first, she “continued to dismiss the challenge her daughter was facing,” Loc said. “She kept telling us, ‘She’s just trying to get out of school. She’s trying to avoid her homework assignment.’ She kept relating it back to academics.” Ultimately, the situation reached a point where child welfare services became involved and, due to concern for the safety of the child, deemed that the circumstances rose to the level of neglect. The girl was finally admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

In another instance, Loc recalled a mother reaching out to the center requesting mental health services for both she and her son, who was in a psychiatric hospital for his depression at the time. “For a Chinese mother to request services for herself was really big,” Loc said. This mother said she needed to help herself in order to help her child. She felt guilty that her son, who was getting good grades and doing well, was so depressed and she didn’t know how to help. She never saw any signs.

That is not uncommon. Loc noted that it may take a bit of a different approach when supporting AAPI students. Signs could be more subtle when it comes to mental health struggles within the AAPI student community because they are more likely to keep up with grades and actively participate in school projects — some typical signs of disengagement and trouble. Instead, signs could include low energy, lack of interest and bonding with peers, flatter affects or a lack of emotion — signs that are more subtle.

“Mental health is typically not a daily topic of conversation, especially in the AAPI family,” Loc said. “Despite race or socioeconomic class, mental health affects everybody and anybody, but Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek help. The biggest reason is the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and on top of stigma is the lack of understanding and awareness of what mental illness is and where to seek resources. Another one of the challenges that Asian Americans face is pressure of the model minority.”

Though there hasn’t been a single solution that addresses all the challenges brought on by the pandemic, Garvey School District, located in east Los Angeles County, would not have been as successful at addressing student and community needs on its own during these last couple years, according to district Superintendent Anita Chu.

Having strong partnerships with multiple community agencies and institutions of higher education allowed the district to provide ongoing vaccine clinics and weekly COVID testing, and helped to ensure there was enough staff to provide additional academic support staff for after-school programs, daily health screenings and more.

“It takes a village to educate a child, and in this COVID situation, it takes a community of partners to make sure that we can provide a safe in-person environment for all,” Chu said. “COVID had redefined the role of education. Whole-child development has turned from an espoused theory to a theory in action.”

Stephen Choi, chief technology officer at San Marino Unified School District, urged school board members and other policymakers in attendance to continue building and strengthening these kinds of partnerships. “I encourage you to continue to lead with courage, trust your instincts and do what’s best for your students and communities even during these times when there’s extreme criticism,” he said.

Loc, of the Chinatown Service Center, provided several recommendations for school officials interested in early intervention. Mental health first aid training, for instance, can help ensure emergency room referrals don’t happen in the first place. Training in the youth model can better allow school personnel to see the signs of mental health struggles early, know how to de-escalate a situation before it becomes a crisis and how to get resources.

Schools can also incorporate a trauma-informed care approach, which includes creating a safe environment, building relationships and connections, and supporting and teaching emotional regulation.

To make sure the school system is best prepared to meet the needs of the whole child and whole family, Chu noted the need for long-term investments, particularly at the policy level.

“We need policies that promote partnerships between school districts and community agencies,” she said. “Polices that provide resources for additional health and [social-emotional learning] staff, policies that incorporate SEL in teacher credentialing programs. Even though we are certainly in a better place, our journey together will continue.”