Psychiatric NP Cares for Chinese Immigrants
This is glimpse of how a psychiatric nurse practitioner, who has training in natural health works with Chinese immigrant clients.
I perform psychiatric assessements and medication managment at the Asian Bi-Cultural Program at Gouveneur Healthcare Center, in New York City. I am continually amazed by the tenacity of my clients. They suffer through many hardships to help create a better life in America for their families and themselves.
The Chinese immigrants find Chinatown and the Lower East Side of New York, have been drawn here by the strong Chinese culture. The area serves as a magnet for their lives and their healthcare.
When I started working in the Asian Bi-Cultural Clinic, I had no idea that Chinese immigrants were so psychiatrically needy, but I soon learned that their psychiatric illness may have developed due to the trauma - their quest of coming to the United States to seek a better life.
Briefly, each Chinese immigrant has their own story. Many are able to handle the difficulties they were forced to endure,in order to be smuggled into this country, but for some, there is so much pressure placed upon the client to succeed, that a psychiatric illness develops. I share the belief of my staffmembers, Chinese American social workers and psychologists, that the illnesses I am treating may never have erupted, had the client remained in China. Our greatest fear is, their illness may prevent the client from succeeding in this country.
Chinese immigrants who have successfully come to the USA, may continue to live in peril. They worry that if they do not pay their “debt,” to the 'snake heads' (the smuggler) that they may be putting their family members here and back in China, in jeopardy. It is not uncommon to hear that my clients, who have promised sums of up to $80,000 (or more) for being smuggled into the USA, must pay their ‘snakehead’ (and his group) for being brought to the USA. What is the consequence of failure? A family member, or the client, may be kidnapped, or subjected to more atrocities, and their services ‘sold’ to repay this debt.
My clients have psychiatric diagnoses of depression, have adjustment disorders, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and others, but, although the diagnoses may be different, the underlying issue remains the same. Their primary focus is - they need to be sufficiently medically and psychiatrically well that they can work - if thet don't work their suffering intensifies, becaue they came to this country as the means for their families to escape the poverty of China. They have to work to pay the way for those they left behind.
I perform psychiatric assessements and medication managment at the Asian Bi-Cultural Program at Gouveneur Healthcare Center, in New York City. I am continually amazed by the tenacity of my clients. They suffer through many hardships to help create a better life in America for their families and themselves.
The Chinese immigrants find Chinatown and the Lower East Side of New York, have been drawn here by the strong Chinese culture. The area serves as a magnet for their lives and their healthcare.
When I started working in the Asian Bi-Cultural Clinic, I had no idea that Chinese immigrants were so psychiatrically needy, but I soon learned that their psychiatric illness may have developed due to the trauma - their quest of coming to the United States to seek a better life.
Briefly, each Chinese immigrant has their own story. Many are able to handle the difficulties they were forced to endure,in order to be smuggled into this country, but for some, there is so much pressure placed upon the client to succeed, that a psychiatric illness develops. I share the belief of my staffmembers, Chinese American social workers and psychologists, that the illnesses I am treating may never have erupted, had the client remained in China. Our greatest fear is, their illness may prevent the client from succeeding in this country.
Chinese immigrants who have successfully come to the USA, may continue to live in peril. They worry that if they do not pay their “debt,” to the 'snake heads' (the smuggler) that they may be putting their family members here and back in China, in jeopardy. It is not uncommon to hear that my clients, who have promised sums of up to $80,000 (or more) for being smuggled into the USA, must pay their ‘snakehead’ (and his group) for being brought to the USA. What is the consequence of failure? A family member, or the client, may be kidnapped, or subjected to more atrocities, and their services ‘sold’ to repay this debt.
My clients have psychiatric diagnoses of depression, have adjustment disorders, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and others, but, although the diagnoses may be different, the underlying issue remains the same. Their primary focus is - they need to be sufficiently medically and psychiatrically well that they can work - if thet don't work their suffering intensifies, becaue they came to this country as the means for their families to escape the poverty of China. They have to work to pay the way for those they left behind.
posted by Eric Malz at 5:12 AM
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