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Asian American Pastoral Counseling

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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

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Asian Americans (the term “Asian Americans” does not include Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander groups) constitute 6% of the US population according to the 2010 Census, a 46% increase from 2000 to 2010. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing group of all racial groups including Latinos. With more than 30 ethnic subgroups and more than 40 spoken languages and dialects, Asian Americans are extremely diverse in population demographics, socioeconomic issues, and mental health needs. About 60% of Asian Americans are foreign-born and nearly three out of four speak a language other than English at home. The six largest Asian American subgroups include Chinese (3.8 million), Filipino (3.4 million), Indian (3.2 million), Vietnamese (1.7 million), Korean (1.7 million), and Japanese (1.3 million) (Asian American Center for Advancing Justice 2011). Among ethnic groups, South Asian Americans are the fastest growing in the country.

Mental health issues among Asian Americans are complex and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Practical Theology, Spiritual Care, and Counseling, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Lincoln University, Claremont, CA, USA

    K. Samuel Lee

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  1. K. Samuel Lee
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Correspondence to K. Samuel Lee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    David A. Leeming

  2. Blanton-Peale Institute, New York, NY, USA

    David A. Leeming

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Lee, K.S. (2020). Asian American Pastoral Counseling. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9125

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