Thero

FOR VIETNAMESE AMERICANS

Many second-generation Vietnamese Americans do not have access to adequate mental health services that understand their layered culture and complex identity. Being raised at home by parents who have Vietnam War-related traumas, many of their children inherit their parents’ behavior and negative perception about mental illness. When the culture’s perception around mental health is stigmatized, this creates a cyclical problem of not having enough Vietnamese therapists in the local area and a lack of resources that have the nuanced understandings of the Vietnamese diaspora, which discourage many to seek help and results in the continuous cycle of transgenerational trauma. This proposal attempts to answer the following research question: How can we provide better access to culturally sensitive mental health services and resources for second-generation Vietnamese Americans?

The concept of this project was created during my time as an Interaction Design graduate student at the University of North Texas in Spring of 2020.

You may view the clickable prototype here.