Chislon Chow

I believe that Christian communities can be beneficial to mental health, but we need to be having critical conversations and reflections about how to do this well among Christians, rather than simply assuming that this is actually the case.

There are Christian mental health professionals who have pursued additional training to learn more effective practices that may be missed among Christians. Christians may face unique struggles, including being vulnerable to their own mental health misconceptions and misinformation.

Another workshop suggested that church attendance is associated with better mental health. But just because these can happen together, it doesn't mean one always causes the other. We ought to consider other significant factors, such as being at church in the first place and accessibility barriers.

At a major Asian American evangelical mental health workshop, a speaker said "the deepest answer to mental health issues is our reconciled relationship with Christ." While helpful to some, it should be said that casually attributing such challenges to religious attribution alone can be harmful.

What constitutes as appropriate media for children is a topic of ongoing debate, especially with newer mediums such as social media. However, Canadian parents can refer to MediaSmarts's guide for common age-based rating systems when choosing media content for children.

Concerned by reports indicating that parents are showing a recent and popular China movie in theatres depicting graphical war violence to young children. China lacks a age-based film rating system. Research shows that exposure to violent media can lead to significant psychological harm in children.

This shows that culturally sensitive mental health care in Toronto isn’t something we can take for granted. By sharing their work and showing gratitude, we can help keep these important services available for our communities.

Patient, advocates worry shuttered mental health program for Toronto's Chinese community will reduce access | CBC News A Toronto woman and health advocates are worried the Chinese community will lose access to culturally sensitive mental health care after a specialized program at Toronto Western Hospital was shuttered...

UHN has shut down its culturally sensitive mental health program for the Toronto Chinese community, according to previous staffs and clients. Numerous staffs have been let go. I used to refer clients to them and their free Cantonese and Mandarin therapy groups. A great loss to our community.

People and institutions are not the same as God. Even believers in the Bible have faced infighting. Conflicts among believers cause real hurts, some label it as "religious trauma." Healing from these wounds might be helpful, and may happen inside or even outside of those churches.

In Canada, numerous prominent churches have apologized for their roles in the operation of residential schools which they recognized as harmful to the Indigenous. History shows more instances of injustices done by Christians. Christians have not been immune to being on the wrong side of history.

As a Cantonese Protestant, I sometimes pay attention to local church events. Recently, two large Toronto-based Chinese churches invited a prominent ethics professor to speak on controversial issues. The talks reveal deep political disagreements among Christians, sometimes causing church splits.

I sympathize with the fact that there is a lack of opportunities to learn best parenting practices. But beyond this threat of being arrested, it is the responsibility of caregivers to change their potentially harmful parenting.

In the Greater Toronto Area, one can inquire with Help Ahead for free.

Contrary to some video's comments that these parents chose to parent in this way for "cultural reasons," such parenting tactics cannot be excused in this manner. Best parenting practices have been influenced by scientific advances based on decades of research on child development and discipline.

Early on in the interaction between the father and the officer, the father even could be heard explaining to his daughter that the police came to arrest her, implying that it was because the daughter was being bad. While such scare tactics may be popular among some parents, this is ill-advised.

When the police officer arrived, the parents initially did not answer after persistent knocking on doors and windows. When the Chinese father finally emerged, they appeared not to understand the severity of the problem when confronted by the officer. He is eventually arrested and put into handcuffs.

This Chinese couple had left their child to stand outside alone by themselves as "punishment," saying that it was because their child had hit their mother. Neighbours who noticed the child standing outside the home alone called the police on the Chinese parents.

In Canada, it is the duty of every person to report suspected child neglect to Child Protective Services. This is not only the responsibility of health professionals or educators, but they have added obligation due to their profession. The same type of police report happens in Canada as well.

Screenshot of the police bodycam video with channel watermark, involving a Chinese family in the United States. The timestamp of the video is dated for 2023. Shows part of the video with subtitle, when the police officer is telling their colleague on the phone about a very serious case of child neglect.

A police bodycam video of a Chinese parent being arrested and cuffed in the States for neglect of their 6 year old child has been circulating. I won't link directly to the video and just provide commentary. Chinese parents may want to better educate themselves on modern parenting expectations.

If you are local to Richmond Hill, Ontario, I am partnered with Living Water Counselling Centre, where I offer both in-person and online sessions.

lwcounselling.ca

Based on Anais Chen’s undergrad thesis, this 2023 video explores Chinese Canadian identity by looking through history in a personal and well-informed way. Reconnecting with our roots can be supportive of our mental wellbeing, but is often neglected.

(36 minutes, English with Chinese subs)

YouTube video by Anais Chen The Chinese Canadian Origin Story

As questions about Canadian identity have come up in recent days, those of us with Chinese heritage in Canada would wonder who we are. "Chinese Canadian" is its own meaningful identity, but there aren’t many resources on this. One of the more thoughtful videos I’ve seen is this one by Anais Chen.

Each of the three states can serve a purpose, but it’s important not to stay stuck if it doesn’t fit the moment. We may not always fully control which state we land in, but how we respond can still make a big difference. Sometimes we might need a bit of help, and that’s okay too.

Inspired by Daniel Siegel's "River of Wellbeing"

The state of how we may feel inside can be compared to paddling a boat on a river.

🟡 Drift too far to one side, and you hit chaos: reactive and anxious
🔴 Too far to the other, rigidity: numb and shutdown
🟢 When we are in the middle, safety: flexible and grounded

- Inspired by Dr. Daniel Siegel

In addition to listing top reasons for Canadian pride, the data answers top reasons for a lack of Canadian pride, whether there is a personal feeling of being proud to be Canadian, major Canadian institutions that foster Canadian identity, quality of life, general sense of happiness and optimism.

Each Canada Day is a reminder that it is not necessarily universally experienced as celebratory across all who are here in Canada across all people groups. While this is not realized enough in common discussions, and it is Canadian to be respectful and civil as much as possible in such situations.

68% of Canadians Take Pride in Their National Identity - Abacus Data %

Just ahead of Canada Day, Abacus Data released new results from a national survey conducted across Canadian adults to assess their sense of national pride. There are both those who are and those who are not feeling proud to be Canadian, each person's experience can both be unique and valid.

Valedictorian told to stay home after making pro-Palestinian remarks in grad speech | CBC News Elizabeth Yao, the graduating valedictorian at Bell High School in west Ottawa, said she was told not to go to school on Monday after she made pro-Palestinian remarks during a speech at her commenceme...

Referring to the recent news report by the CBC:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

An Asian Ontario high school student was told to stay home after mentioning politics in their valedictorian speech 🎓🗣️. Politics talk can be risky - 39% of job seekers avoid political talk at work (2023 survey) 🏢❌. Immigrants face added risks; balancing self-care and authenticity is important.

Heard from a recent Hong Konger gathering in Toronto, these words by Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo, describing the experiences of being an immigrant in North America:

"So
here you are
too foreign for home
too foreign for here
never enough for both."

For the sake of the next generation, parents and adults ought to be more informed about mental health and how deeply it affects our vulnerable youths. We can't expect young people to carry the burden of breaking the silence alone. They need us to speak up, learn, and lead the way.