Confucianism

Deepening our Understanding of Confucianism & Daoism for Clinicians & Social Activists: Enriching Applied Approaches for Asian-American/Pacific Islanders

Nancy Liu | Associate Clinical Professor, Psychology | UC Berkeley

Heng Du | Assistant Professor, Chinese | Wellesley College

Boaz Tang | Graduate Student, Asian American Studies | San Francisco State University

Stephen Chen | Associate Professor, Psychology | Wellesley College

Confucian and Daoist ideas are significantly oversimplified as typically applied and understood within mental health and social activism. Concepts such as filial piety, harmony, and collectivism are often described in static, unchanging terms, such as in discussions of psychotherapy cultural competence. As a result, recommendations and approaches for Asian-American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations are at best, blunt and over-prescriptive and at worst, reinforce negative stereotypes of populations as simplistic, conforming, and emotionally-impoverished. This working group will bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars with research expertise in Chinese history and philosophy, cultural psychology, and sociology, as well as applied expertise in clinical psychology and social activism with AAPI groups. Through monthly meetings over the course of approximately 1.5 years, the working group will produce at least 2 products: one scholarly and one public-facing. We also anticipate the generation of additional ideas and potential for future collaborations.

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