Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives

This is the first textbook written to welcome those who are new to Asian American psychology. Concepts and theories come to life by relating the material to everyday experiences and by including activities, discussion questions, exercises, clinical case studies, and internet resources. Contributions from the leading experts and emerging scholars and practitioners in the field - the majority of whom have also taught Asian American psychology - feature current perspectives and key findings from the psychological literature.

The book opens with the cornerstones of Asian American psychology, including Asian American history and research methods. Part 2 addresses how Asian Americans balance multiple worlds with topics such as racial identity, acculturation, and religion. Part 3 explores the psychological experiences of Asian Americans through the lens of gender and sexual orientation and their influence on relationships. Part 4 discusses the emerging experiences of Asian Americans, including adoptees, parachute kids, and multiracial Asian Americans. Part 5 focuses on social and life issues facing Asian Americans such as racism, academic and career development. The text concludes with an examination of the physical and psychological well-being of Asian Americans and avenues for coping and healing.

This ground-breaking volume is intended as an undergraduate/beginning graduate level introductory textbook on Asian American psychology taught in departments of psychology, Asian American and/or ethnic studies, counseling, sociology, and other social sciences. In addition, the clinical cases will also appeal to clinicians and other mental health workers committed to learning about Asian Americans.

Nita Tewari (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Southern Illinois University, 2000) is a second generation Indian American whose parents emigrated from India about 40 years ago.  She was born in Los Angeles County, was raised and resides in Orange County, California.  She completed her bachelor’s in psychology from the University of California, Irvine and her doctoral internship at the University of California, Los Angeles Student Psychological Services. She earned her master's in psychology and doctorate in counseling psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  She has served in the positions of Research Psychologist at California State University Long Beach, Clinical Researcher at the University of California Irvine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Staff Psychologist in the Counseling Center and Adjunct Faculty in the School of Social Sciences and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).  She has taught Asian American Psychology at UCI, has provided clinical services to university students and published in multicultural psychology on Indian/South Asian American and Asian American mental health.  In 2002, she co-founded the South Asian Psychological Networking Association (SAPNA), a listserv and website dedicated to connecting individuals interested in South Asian American mental health concerns.  Dr. Tewari has also served as the past Co-Chair of the Division on Women for the Asian American Psychological Association and served as a writer for Audrey Magazine.  Dr. Tewari will be serving as the Vice President of the Asian American Psychological Association for the 2008-2009 term and continues to focus on Asian American mental health issues while being married and raising her two children. 

Alvin Alvarez (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, University of Maryland, 1996) immigrated to the US from Cebu, Philippines when he was five and was raised in Long Beach, California. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Irvine in biological sciences and psychology. An Asian American Psychology course sparked his passion in Asian American issues, so he dropped his plans for medical school and earned his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Currently, he is a Professor and Coordinator of the College Counseling Program at San Francisco State University, where he trains masters-level students to be college counselors and student affairs practitioners. His personal and professional interests focus on Asian Americans, racial identity, and the psychological impact of racism. Dr. Alvarez is currently conducting community-based studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to examine how Chinese-Americans, Pilipino-Americans, and Vietnamese-Americans perceive and cope with racism. In the long term, Dr. Alvarez aims to develop community-based interventions to help Asian Americans cope with racism in constructive ways. Dr. Alvarez served as the President of the Asian American Psychological Association and has been involved in national-level projects and initiatives, advocating for all oppressed groups. He received the Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions from the Asian American Psychological Association and the Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award from the American Psychological Association. Consistent with his belief that psychologists serve the communities they came from, Dr. Alvarez is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the community mental health center Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS) in San Francisco.