Eileen Drapiza-Dornan, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

https://blog.usejournal.com/there-are-not-enough-asian-ther

https://www.nbcnews.com//mental-health-toll-being-model-mi

http://eileendrapizapsychotherapy.com//group-for-asian-am/ Announcing a group I'm starting in early January. 2 spots left! I am offering a free "drop-in" info meeting via a secure link on Zoom this Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020 at 5 p.m. If you need to dial-in, please let me know in your email. Again, see info on my website (see page "Group for Asian Americans") for getting an invite/link. Or try the direct link:... eileendrapizapsychotherapy.com/p/group-for-asian-americans/ Here's some info, registration/payment details on my website. Group for Asian Americans: Hyphenated No More As an Asian American, who are you really? Do you live in the hyphen between cultures, neither 100% this, not 100% that? Do you sometimes feel left out or forgotten in discussions about race? Not Black, not white. Perhaps you have ethnic pride, but it’s such a quiet pride that it means you still get overlooked. Explore the self and desires you’ve kept suppressed as a result of a lifetime of honoring your parents’ or other elder’s wishes, or because you were taught to care for others even at the expense of your SELF. Maybe you are or have been good at academic achievement, but relationships are rougher-going territory. Join us as you find your voice, give and get support and encouragement, find a safe environment where you can start to take healthy risks. Gather and tell your story, share your dreams, be reflected, feel connected. Attention will also be given to helping you notice and process your own internal sensations, helping you to better self-regulate. This will prepare you to get the most out of therapy if and when you decide to follow up with deeper individual work. This Zoom-based group, limited to 5 people (as of 12/27/20n there are 2 openings), meets twice a month and meets a total of 8 times on alternate Friday afternoons, for 2 hours from 4 p.m. 6 p.m. Next group begins in early January. For a full schedule of proposed dates and registration details, visit my website, or use the link below. I am offering a free "drop-in" info meeting via a secure link on Zoom this Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020 at 5 p.m. Again, see info on my website (see page "Group for Asian Americans") for getting an invite/link. Or try the direct link: eileendrapizapsychotherapy.com/p/group-for-asian-americans/ Thank you! Eileen Drapiza-Dornan, LMFT [email protected] | eileendrapizapsychotherapy.com

https://www.theguardian.com//shut-eye-and-sleep-hygiene-th

What did Christmas look like on Angel Island? Officials handed out presents like tooth brushes and soap to safety razors. Kids received books, yo-yos, balls, tops, jacks, marbles, skipping ropes, and dominoes. They also served treats of popcorn balls, walnuts, raisins & oranges.

A while back I took a trip across the Bay to attend a workshop by Bessel Van Der Kolk, who was speaking about trauma and his book, The Body Keeps The Score. It sent me scurrying for more training opportunities beyond talk therapy that could help with some of my cases. Trauma (both big T and little t trauma) is often present, even when we aren't always aware. Sometimes it's easy to miss, but stop and think. A single shaming incident you experienced as a child can be traumatic ...(granted, not always). If left to fester, it can have a long reach, maybe even narrow your choices, or send you into making unhealthy choices, even in adulthood. And then there is historical trauma, too. Many 2nd gen Asian American people I know are really one maybe two generations away from a horrific history of genocide, which may have included fleeing their homeland during a time of political upheaval, or losing or being separated from family members. The study of epigenetics tells us that the children and grandchildren of those who did have direct traumatic experience can also carry the effects of that trauma in their genes. The narrative gets lost, but the memory lives on in the body on a cellular level.