Living between cultures, generations, or value systems can create a quiet, but persistent kind of stress. Many people carry pressures that are deeply relational and cultural—often without language or space to explore them safely. Therapy can offer a space to gently explore these tensions without needing to choose between honoring your roots and honoring yourself. I work with adults in the Asian diaspora in Austin and across Texas who are navigating cultural identity, family expectations, and intergenerational stress.
Family Expectation and Obligations
Pressure to meet family needs, uphold traditions, or prioritize collective values can conflict with your own emotional needs, boundaries, or desires. This may show up as guilt, tension, or a sense of responsibility that feels heavy or unending.
Values, Norms, and Unspoken Rules
Cultural norms around achievement, emotional expression, gender roles, or loyalty can shape how you move through the world. When these expectations are rigid or unspoken, it can be difficult to know what is “allowed” for you—and what isn’t.
Developing Your Own Identity and Path
Many people navigate the complexity of honoring where they come from while also wanting something different for themselves. This can bring grief, confusion, or fear of disappointing others, alongside a longing for authenticity and self-trust.
Intergenerational, Migration-related, and Cultural Stress
Experiences shaped by immigration, displacement, or intergenerational trauma may live in the body as vigilance, self-silencing, or chronic tension—even when life appears stable on the outside.
Therapeutic Support
My practice is informed by my own lived experience and work with Asian diaspora clients seeking culturally attuned therapy in Austin and across Texas. I approach cultural identity stress with humility, curiosity, and respect for your lived experience. I don’t assume what your culture means to you, and I don’t ask you to choose between honoring your roots and honoring yourself.
Using a somatic, body-based approach, we pay attention to how cultural stress shows up in your nervous system—through patterns of holding, bracing, shutting down, or staying on alert. Rather than focusing only on insight or problem-solving, we move slowly and collaboratively, tracking sensations, emotions, and impulses as they arise.
What this Work Can Look Like
Together, we might explore:
- Building internal permission for rest, agency, and self-definition
- How family dynamics live in your body
- What happens internally when you consider setting boundaries or making changes
- Ways to increase your capacity to hold complexity and difference
I support clients through the Austin Asian Community Health Initiative (AACHI). You can check out my profile on AACHI, and also access mental health resources on their page.
If you are a part of the Asian diaspora, you may find additional resources at the Asian Mental Health Collective.
Sheila Singh Therapy 