In many cultures, an act as simple as cutting fruit can be a profound expression of love. 🍊❤️ But when was the last time you cut fruit for yourself? In a first Pilot program, we dive into pathways on how we can turn these small acts of care and kindness outward, inward. 🌸 Join us to: * Learn to “cut fruit” for yourself focusing on learning ways to rediscover your inner kinder and wiser self with compassion based skills * Practice skills to help learn new patterns to manage self sacrificing and alternate ways in nurturing you through reparenting skills * Learn practical strategies to nurture your wellbeing from a culturally informed lens This isn’t just about cutting fruit—it’s about reclaiming your right to care for yourself, just as you care for others. 🍏✨ This program is significantly subsidised due to it being a Beta program. Be a part of the first program and integral journey in shaping the vision of the Middle Bridge Project! 🛤️ Ready to start your journey and join our program? Learn more in the Link in bio!

🌱Your mind and body are in constant conversation, every day. Mental health doesn’t just affect your mind—it impacts your entire body. 🧠 In many culturally diverse communities, there’s often a strong emphasis on collective wellbeing, where the needs of the group come before the individual. While this focus on family and community support is a strength, it can sometimes lead to silence around personal mental health struggles, due to stigma or fear of burdening others. What this might tend to mean is that in collectivist cultures where emotional expression might be reserved, mental health challenges can often tend to manifest as physical symptoms, or somatically. The connection between mind and body is something that transcends cultural boundaries. It’s a universal experience: our emotions and mental state are closely tied to our physical health. 🌏 Common ones I hear include: →Persistent headaches or migraines: Often linked to stress or anxiety. →Digestive issues: The gut-brain connection means that stress can significantly impact your digestive system. →Unexplained aches and pains: Chronic stress or unresolved emotional issues can lead to muscle tension and discomfort. These physical signs can be your body’s way of communicating that something deeper is at play. It’s important to listen and take action, whether that means seeking support within your community, talking to a health professional, or finding culturally appropriate ways to manage stress and emotions such as through meditative yoga, physical therapy or even Chinese medicine acupuncture (if this aligns with you!). ✨Remember, addressing mental health is not just a personal journey—it’s a path that strengthens your entire community. When you take care of your mind, you’re also caring for your body, your loved ones, and the collective wellbeing. Yes it’s a lot but that’s why it’s important to also care for you! What are some other common physical signs you have heard or experienced? Follow @middlebridgeproject for more insights on mental health, wellbeing, and how we can embrace our cultural strengths while navigating these challenges. 🌱

📣 New Blog Post Alert! You may be wondering why dumplings are relevant as we dive into Filial Piety. Although Dim Sum or Yum Cha is not directly a symbol of Filial Piety, the customs and values associated with it can reflect the principles of respect, care, and family cohesion that Filial Piety upholds. It’s a beautiful intersection of Confucian values and cultural traditions. As a second-generation Asian Australian, I’ve often navigated the complex dance between respecting these deep-rooted values and asserting my own personal autonomy. The struggle to balance these often conflicting ideals—especially within the cultural context of both collectivist and individualistic values—can be conflicting. Filial Piety, while central to many Asian cultures, can sometimes lead to emotional and psychological challenges when it’s misconstrued or used to enforce obedience. As I reflect on my own journey and the cultural expectations that come with being a child of refugees, I find myself rethinking what Filial Piety means in today’s world. 💡Can we redefine Filial Piety to honour our parents while also respecting our own needs? How can we find harmony between these two worlds? I invite you to learn more about what Filial Piety means and explore this with me while I share snippets from both my personal lens and professional lens as a Psychologist. Read the Full Blog to dive deeper into this important conversation (Link In Bio) 🙏🌱

Having children may be one part of your journey breaking the cycle or leaving an imprint in this world (if aligns with what brings you meaning), but it isn’t the only necessary path to life’s purpose or fulfilment. 🌱⛓️‍💥 Growing up between cultures, I was constantly asked, ‘When are you getting married? When are you having kids? When are you getting a job? When’s the next one?’. The questions never seemed to stop, each one a reminder that my worth or sense of purpose was tied to meeting the next milestone. Whilst I acknowledge these questions come from a place of care and connection with engrained cultural norms, it can highlight societal pressures. But as I’ve grown, I’ve embraced that the journey of our legacy isn’t about ticking off boxes on a checklist—it can be your own blueprint and can be about the imprints we leave in our relationships and how we choose to show up for ourselves. Especially when these paths weren’t naturally rooted in our own upbringing and experiences or even our ancestral history, we have the power to create new ones. Breaking free from societal pressures are not easy, but it’s essential. We can learn to forge my own journey—one where self-compassion, healing, and where breaking generational patterns are celebrated. Our mark or imprints do not have to be measured by the number of children we have, the jobs we secure, or how closely we follow tradition. It can be in the love, understanding, and change we bring into our lives and communities, and in how we nurture ourselves and those around us. It could even be simply us choosing one simple step to bring us closer to those values. To anyone feeling weighed down by these constant questions, know this: → You are enough just as you are. Your legacy is in the way you live, the love you share, and the courage you show in being yourself and choosing to show up for you. It’s whatever you choose as your definition and you do not have to prove it to anyone 💛

Now available as a free download with accompanying worksheet - a unique adaptation of ‘Inside Out 2’ new emotions from the POV of Children of immigrant parents. 🌍 Due to being inundated with requests of the potential utility and relatability, I’ve created a free summary of the original post and an accompanying worksheet to support reflection and help you create your own experiences and version. As a passionate advocate for inclusive storytelling, I believe that representation in media is crucial. Our narratives are important to explore and this handout is designed to help continue the conversations. Whether you’re a therapist, parent, educator, or for yourself or anyone interested in understanding the emotions and experiences unique to children (and adult children) of immigrant families, using the beloved characters from *Inside Out 2* as a guide. I hope this resource sparks further meaningful conversations and helps bridge the gap between generations, through a lens fostering conversations and appreciation for understanding diverse backgrounds. Download your FREE copy today (via the website and link in bio) 📥✨ Feel free to share your thoughts & keep the conversation going! 💬

Ready to learn practical tips to manage culturally rooted conflicts when setting boundaries with your family? It’s here… Join me online for a FREE mini “bite sized” webinar 👩🏻‍💻✍️ We will be diving into some foundations of how & why to set culturally informed boundaries, guided by your values, where you will receive: → Practical Tips To learn about setting culturally attuned boundaries and practical strategies based on evidence-based psychology frameworks such as ACT & DBT. → Live Zoom Session 30 minutes total, broken into two bite-sized 15-minute segments. → Access to Recorded Replay Available for up to 2 weeks after the Live Webinar. This is available free for a limited time and limited access period. → 2 x Bonus Worksheets Adapted for cross-cultural contexts, based on evidence-based frameworks. 📅 Date: Wednesday, 21 August 2024 🕒 Time: 7:00PM - 7:30PM AEST 🌐 Where: Zoom (link provided closer to date) 🔗 How: Reserve Your Spot Today & Register Now Via the Link In Bio. I cannot wait to facilitate this bite, access for a free for limited time (replays for up to 2 weeks after the live webinar) 🌱

Have you ever felt alone, even when surrounded by people? You’re not alone with this, especially if you identify from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background such as a POC or navigating 2+ cultures. This year’s Loneliness Awareness Week (5-11 August) is about sharing real stories. As a Psychologist, I have heard various versions and experiences of loneliness, at least every week, for the past decade of my professional career. Loneliness not discriminate and it can affect anyone, and all ages, at any life stage. As an Asian Australian, I have experienced this in my personal life journey particularly navigating the journeys of being a first time parent in the peak of the COVID wave and even throughout my education and career. Why might it be more prevalent if you are from a culturally diverse background? → “Stronger relationships are made through shared values, repeated interactions and effort over time” - experiences of non-culturally sensitive environments, including workplaces can be a factor. → I also wonder about how therapy experiences may exacerbate or aid in loneliness - for instance if therapy practices lean into non-culturally attended responsive practices this could potentially do the opposite of building meaningful connections. → Experiences are often compounded by systemic racism and discrimination - you can become lonely when you are isolated → Being the only racial minority or marginalised minority may exacerbate loneliness → There are increased risk factors to social isolation including depression, anxiety and impaired executive functioning 🌱 Loneliness is a normal human emotion, and often invisible 🌱 It is not the individual’s responsibility but for ALL OF OUR responsibility to engage in solutions to aid in helping the individual who experiences loneliness - whether that is a sense of belonging, meaningful social connections, through community’s schools, workplaces. Follow @endlonelinessau & have a read at their interesting recent report highlighting necessary conversations and statistics around ending loneliness 🌿

Cultural Idioms as a form of emotional expression across cultures 🌱 → Have you ever tried to express your emotions but struggled to find the right way to say it beyond emotive or feelings words? And even if you translated these expressions to English, it felt like it did not capture entirely the essence of its social and cultural meaning? → Ive struggled with this personally with expressively interpreting expressions in Vietnamese even to my friends and even partner who is of a different cultural and ethnic background. →I’ve also heard several stories as a Psychologist, for people trying to express or articulate a cultural phrase and feeling it’s missed the mark when translated or interpreted to English. In simple terms, cultural idioms are: 🌱 different ways cultures express emotional and psychological distress or suffering 🌱deeply rooted in cultural norms and frequently manifesting as physical symptoms (such as somatisation).  For example, in the Vietnamese language there is an expression “như cá nằm trên thớt” - which roughly translates to, “like a fish laying on a chopping board”. This idiom is meant to express and describe a hopeless situation, literally akin to a fish being ready to be chopped into pieces 😂 Another is “Đứng núi này, trông núi nọ” - literally translates as “Standing on this mountain but looking over the other one.”  which is an idiom of disatisfaction of what someone has compared to another person’s situation almost like  “the grass is always greener on the other side.” 💡Have you heard of cultural idioms before? What expressions or idioms have you heard or used to express different emotions - from joy to annoyance to frustration or even hopelessness? 💬

🎤 Last week, I had the privilege to connect with so many Vietnamese Australians at @vietauspn’s well-being event! Alongside a fireside chat, it was a true honour to share some personal stories and mental health tips around navigating cultural identity, including questions around the overlaps of the impacts of trauma and Intergenerational trauma. 💛 Thank you for allowing me to connect with you all and have these conversations about all things mental health and well-being and how it intersects with cultural identities! What I did get to reflect on was how similar everyone’s stories and experiences were around the struggles navigating the professional world as a person of colour, in particularly for women of colour. Whether you’re a nurse, lawyer, engineer, or a creative artist everyone shared similar stories of how mental health had been taboo in families growing up and finding the space to talk about mental health, navigating clashing cultural values and identities or challenges at work with systemic issues around representation or being in leadership positions. I’ve really taken on board all the stories, with time to reflect on how I can better serve our community as well as culturally diverse folks, with my mission with the Middle Bridge Project. 🙏 Stay tuned for some exciting news dropping soon and don’t forget to check out all the freebies on my website - the’Our Boundaries’ book has been a hit over the weekend! 💛

💬 Navigating Competing Values Across Cultures 🌏 Ever feel like you’re stuck between two worlds? Balancing your personal values with family and cultural expectations can be a challenging journey. As an Asian Australian, I’ve experienced these conflicts firsthand and understand the impact they can have on our internal conflicts. Here are four reasons why these competing values are frequent topics in therapy: 1. Identity Struggles: Discovering who you are amidst differing cultural expectations can feel overwhelming when navigating 2+ cultures. Speaking to a mental health professional allows you to untangle the intricacies of your experience to find ways to thrive in your hybrid culture. 2. Family Expectations: Many of us are raised with deep respect for family values and traditions. When these begin to be tested, in the process of individuation it can create feelings of confusion, resentment and sometimes even guilt and shame in noticing the dissonance between what you truly value vs your parents. 3. Social Pressures: Balancing the societal norms of two cultures can create stress. Therapy offers tools to navigate these pressures in a way that aligns with the person you want to be. 4. Internal Conflicts: The push and pull of conflicting values can cause inner turmoil. Through psychological strategies, we work on integrating these values to find a harmonious middle path. 💡To help navigate these challenges, I created a visual which I’ve used before as a Psychologist, when exploring the internal conflicts of cultural values and deconstructing this - sometimes using a whiteboard (based on concepts from ACT and DBT). By exploring this intersection of the middle path, we can cultivate a balanced approach that respects both your individuality and your cultural heritage. Or even begin to unravel what feels complicated in a more visual way which can also be a thought defusion technique gearing towards the thinking process further. What helps you walk a Middle Path? 🌿 Announcing some very exciting news SOON in the next weeks (hint - it’s got to do with online courses!). Stay tuned and make sure you’re signed up to the mailing list to be the first to know!