Mental health resources for the holidays and beyond
Hello!
It's been over a month since my last email. I hope things have been going well with the holiday season in full swing. I've spent the last couple of weeks reporting on the second story of the series about depression and suicidal ideation, and plan on devoting the month of December to writing the draft.
I don't expect to have too many updates to share about the series in the coming weeks, but I did want to send along a couple of mental health resources that I hope will be helpful, especially during the holidays. Virtually all of these resources have come from folks who participated in the most recent focus group in October.
Mag-Usap Mondays is a free online space for the Filipino American community to talk about various mental health topics that takes place once every month. It's facilitated by Filipino American mental health providers and it’s geared toward the community, but folks who don't identify as Filipino American are welcome to attend.
A lot of people I've had the opportunity to meet and speak with for this series have been so thankful for the space to talk about mental health in focus groups, at the event we held in October to launch the series, and even in interviews. Many have also said they'd love to have more of these spaces, so I'm happy to share that there is something like this that exists for the community.
The next Mag-Usap Monday will be held on Dec. 13 from 3 to 4 p.m. PST. You can RSVP here. You can also learn more about the space and what to expect in an article I wrote for Inquirer.net here.
Peer Support Space Inc. is a Florida-based non-profit that offers free and peer support mental health sessions. It also holds virtual events, with about 20 coming up in the month of December. Find out more about upcoming events by clicking here.
Mango Tree Counseling & Consulting is a Philadelphia-based mental health provider group that serves the Asian and Asian American community. It takes healing-centered approaches to mental health wellness. MTCC also offers mental wellness seminars every second Thursday of the month at 8 p.m. ET and mental wellness seminars for LGTBQIA+ men every first Thursday of the month at 8:30 p.m. ET. Email info@mangotreecc.com for more information on these seminars.
Asian Mental Health Collective is a group that aims to normalize and destigmatize mental health in Asian communities. AMHC also has a Facebook page that you can follow.
AAKOMA Project offers up to five free virtual therapy sessions to teens and young people.
Mabuhay Health Center is a free community health clinic run by students at the University of California, San Francisco. It provides monthly workshops and coaching around health, health education to youth, mental health services, and more.
"Walang Rape sa Bontok" is a documentary centered on how rape did not exist for a period of time in Bontoc. While this isn't a mental health service, it's an incredibly insightful film that offers a glimpse into a Philippine culture where women did not experience rape. Several folks I’ve spoken with through focus groups and the virtual event that launched this series in October mentioned efforts to decolonize their identity, culture and mental health. If that’s you, I hope this is something that can be helpful in that process.
Just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the resource list above. If you know anyone who might find these useful, please feel free to forward this to them. And if you're aware of other resources, please let me know so I can share those out as well in a future newsletter.
I'll check in again in the next one!