Psychotherapy with South Asian Women: Dilemmas of the Immigrant and First Generations

Immigration imposes changes in gender role expectations and sexual expression that can contribute to acculturative stress and intergenerational conflicts. This article focuses on how immigrant and first-generation South Asian women in the United States negotiate losses incurred in immigration and navigate multiple cultural contexts. Immigrant women, having been raised in the country of origin and migrating to the United States as adults, face unique acculturative stressors, such as language/communication barriers, separation from close friends and family, and adapting to new cultural norms. First-generation women face challenges related to navigating across South Asian and mainstream cultural values that may significantly vary between their parental homes and their lives outside of the home. Despite these challenges and related psychological distress, the mental health needs of South Asian women across generations tend to be overlooked. This paper addresses the unique ways in which South Asian women cope with psychological distress, and how psychotherapy that integrates feminist, multicultural and psychodynamic perspectives can provide a meaningful opportunity for healing. Case vignettes are presented to illustrate the similarities and differences in cultural adjustment and the negotiation of cultural identity for immigrant and first-generation South Asian women.