By Poojajeet Khaira, M.D., and Mary Shen, M.D., M.Sc.

Dr. Khaira is a psychiatry resident and APA/APAF Leadership Fellow with a strong commitment to medical education, health equity, and reducing workplace violence. She serves as the APA Assembly Area IV Resident-Fellow Member Deputy Representative and chairs both the Resident-Fellow Member Committee and Social Media Committee of the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association. Her work focuses on elevating resident voices, advocating for culturally responsive care, and promoting safety and well-being in psychiatric training environments.

 

Dr. Shen graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC), with highest honors in nutrition. After college, she pursued a master’s degree in nutrition at Columbia University. She then returned to UNC for medical school, where she earned several university and national awards for her work in leading mentorship initiatives for women in surgery. Dr. Shen initially trained in general surgery at the University of Michigan, where she also served as an NIH T32 research fellow, publishing over 35 peer-reviewed papers. She is now a PGY-3 resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, as well as an APA/APAF Leadership Fellow. Dr. Shen is interested in cultural psychiatry, treatment-resistant depression, and interventional psychiatry.

Suicide is now the leading cause of death among Asian American youth aged 15-24, marking a deeply concerning trend in one of the nation’s most rapidly expanding populations.¹ From 2000 to 2019, the Asian American population grew by 81%, while the Pacific Islander population rose by 61%.² During this same time period, suicide rates among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) male youth climbed by 72%, and among female youth, the increase was an alarming 125%.³ These spikes peaked around 2019-2020, as AAPI youth faced the compounding effects of rising anti-Asian sentiment, academic and familial pressures, and limited access to culturally responsive mental health care.^4-7

In addition to the psychological toll caused by discrimination and violence, AAPI youth also face systemic barriers that hinder their access to adequate mental health care.⁸ Challenges such as language barriers, underfunding of mental health research and a lack of culturally relevant resources contribute to the disparity in mental health outcomes for this population. AAPI communities are diverse, encompassing a wide range of ethnicities, languages and cultural backgrounds, which further complicates the provision of effective care and support.^4-6

Cultural factors also play a significant role in the mental health struggles of AAPI youth. The “model minority” stereotype, which pressures individuals to excel academically and professionally, can exacerbate feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Additionally, the stigma surrounding mental health in many AAPI cultures prevents open conversations about mental illness and discourages young people from seeking help.⁹ This stigma, compounded by intergenerational conflicts where traditional beliefs clash with modern mental health perspectives, creates a perfect storm for mental health crises to go unnoticed or untreated.

Furthermore, many AAPI youth face familial resistance to mental health services, with parents often declining mental health interventions for their children.⁹ This reluctance highlights the urgent need for tailored suicide prevention efforts that address both the unique cultural dynamics of AAPI families and the lack of mental health resources within these communities.

Dr. Khaira discussed how clinicians can support AAPI youth in a conversation with Dr. Krysti Lan Chi Vo, Chair of the Assembly M/UR Committee and Assembly Representative for the Caucus of Asian American Psychiatrists. They sat down to discuss the cultural nuances of treating at-risk youth for a special limited series titled "Breaking the Silence: Addressing Youth Suicide." Dr. Khaira shared what culturally responsive care could look like: "This is going to be different for every patient but seeing them for everything that they are, not just their symptoms. For the AAPI population, many of them are immigrants, they might be first generation or second generation, so understanding that it is a part of their story, understanding family expectations, cultural beliefs about mental health, and also recognizing that they might have faced racism or xenophobia or generational trauma. Noticing that and talking with the patient about how that could have affected their story and how they're presenting today."

To combat the AAPI youth suicide crisis, it is essential to raise awareness about the mental health struggles faced by AAPI youth and work toward destigmatizing mental illness within these communities. Creating accessible, culturally competent mental health services, providing educational resources, and fostering open conversations about mental well-being can help prevent further loss of young lives. Dr. Khaira said that clinicians can start as early as medical school. “You have to start locally to make a change happen,” she said. “Even in my own personal career when I've been passionate about something, the feedback I've gotten is, ‘what have you done at your hospital about it?’ And I think I really have used that to just make decisions for myself and guide what I do. And that is something I hope people take away when listening [to the podcast].”

The “Breaking the Silence: Addressing Youth Suicide” series will premiere this summer on APA’s renowned Medical Mind podcast as part of the APA Moore Equity in Mental Health Initiative. Each episode will feature a dynamic speaker pairing drawn from APA’s membership. Through storytelling, expert insights, and practical guidance, this series seeks to empower listeners with the tools and understanding needed to make a meaningful impact in combating youth suicide — one conversation at a time.

Resources

• Psychiatry.org - Working with Asian American Patients
• Compassionate Home, Action Together – YouTube
• Austin Asian Community Health Initiative
• Stop AAPI Hate
• Asian American Health Initiative
• Yellow Chair Collective Online Therapy in Los Angeles, CA
• National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
• Asian Mental Health Collective Resource Directory
• SMHART Clinic - Stanford Medicine

  References