Spiral Up Therapy
Asian and South Asian Therapists
Cultural Identity & Immigration Challenges ✨
Cultural identity and immigration challenges can include adjusting to a new country, navigating language differences, and managing the stress of living between cultures or generations. For many immigrants and children of immigrants, this may show up as feeling “not enough” for any culture, carrying family sacrifices on your shoulders, or hiding parts of yourself to feel safe.
These experiences are often layered with grief, discrimination, and intergenerational expectations, even when you are also grateful for your family and opportunities. Therapy offers a space where all of these realities can coexist—honoring your story, validating your pain, and supporting you in building a more grounded, integrated sense of self.
Currently accepting clients in California, New Jersey, Idaho and South Carolina.
Common Signs of Cultural Identity & Immigration Stress
People experience cultural identity and immigration stress differently, but common signs include:
Feeling like a “different person” at home, at work, and with friends, and struggling to reconcile these versions of yourself.
Guilt, pressure, or obligation related to your parents’ sacrifices, visas, or financial support.
Chronic worry about immigration status, safety, discrimination, or being treated as an outsider.
Anxiety, sadness, or anger after experiences of racism, microaggressions, or being stereotyped.
Feeling stuck between independence and collectivism—wanting autonomy while fearing conflict or “disrespect.”
Grief or numbness related to distance from home, extended family, language, or lost traditions.
Trouble setting boundaries with family, especially around career, relationships, or mental health.
Physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or tension that show up around family, immigration, or cultural spaces.
Cultural Identity & Immigration Challenges
Acculturation Stress & Culture Shock
Adjusting to a new country or culture can bring confusion, isolation, and constant comparison ; whether you moved recently or years ago. Therapy can support you in understanding your reactions, building coping tools, and finding ways to belong without losing important parts of your identity.
Intergenerational & Family Expectations
Many Asian and South Asian families hold strong values around family duty, success, and sacrifice, which can feel heavy or conflicting. Therapy helps you navigate expectations around school, career, marriage, caregiving, and money while respecting your culture and making room for your own needs.
Bicultural Identity & Belonging
Living between cultures can mean never feeling fully “at home” in any space. Therapy offers a place to explore bicultural or multicultural identity, challenge internalized messages, and create an integrated sense of belonging that feels authentic to you.
Racism, Microaggressions & Safety
Experiences of racism, xenophobia, or being treated as “perpetual foreigners” can be exhausting and traumatic over time. Therapy can help you process these experiences, understand their impact on your body and mind, and build strategies to protect your safety, dignity, and voice.
Racism, Microaggressions & Safety
Experiences of racism, xenophobia, or being treated as “perpetual foreigners” can be exhausting and traumatic over time. Therapy can help you process these experiences, understand their impact on your body and mind, and build strategies to protect your safety, dignity, and voice.
Common Concerns in Asian & South Asian Communities
The “Model Immigrant” Pressure
Many Asian and South Asian clients feel pressure to be “proof” that their family’s sacrifices were worth it—through perfect grades, prestigious jobs, or being endlessly grateful. Therapy can help you untangle your worth from achievement and make room for rest, joy, and imperfection without feeling like you are failing your family.
Being the Bridge in the Family
You might be translating documents, managing technology, or mediating conflicts between generations or cultures. Therapy offers a space to process resentment, burnout, and pride in this role while learning how to share responsibility and set more sustainable boundaries.
“I Don’t Want to Disappoint My Parents”
Fear of disappointing parents can shape choices about school, work, marriage, and where you live. Together, therapy can explore how to honor your parents and ancestors while still choosing a life aligned with your values, even when that means tolerating some discomfort or conflict.
Independence vs. Collectivism
You may feel pulled between Western messages of independence and cultural values around family, interdependence, and obligation. Therapy helps you make sense of these tensions so you can intentionally choose when to prioritize family, community, or yourself—rather than feeling forced into either/or.
Feeling Disconnected from Language or Culture
Some clients feel “not enough” of their culture because they don’t speak the language fluently, grew up far from community, or were encouraged to assimilate. Therapy can support you in grieving what feels lost, reconnecting to culture on your own terms, and loosening shame around how “authentic” you think you should be.
Meet the Team
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Manali Deolalkar
Licensed Therapist
Individual Therapy - 210$/session
Couples Therapy - 230$/session
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Melanie Lei
Associate Therapist
Individual Therapy - 175$/session
Couples Therapy - 225$/session
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Meghna Das
Associate Therapist
Individual Therapy - 150$/session
Couples Therapy - 175$/session
What Sets Us Apart
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
South Asian Therapy
Immigrant Therapy
Inclusive Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
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Therapy can help you name the specific stressors you face (status, work, safety, family) and understand how they impact your body, mood, and relationships. Approaches like CBT, mindfulness-based therapies, and trauma-informed care can reduce anxiety, improve coping, and build a greater sense of stability during uncertain times.
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Feeling guilty or disloyal is very common in collectivistic and immigrant families. In therapy, the goal is not to blame your family but to understand patterns, values, and pain so you can relate to them—and yourself—with more clarity and compassion.
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Culturally responsive therapy for immigrants often integrates CBT, mindfulness-based approaches, psychodynamic work, narrative therapy, and trauma-informed care. Sessions are adapted to your cultural context, values, and communication style, with attention to the impact of racism, immigration policy, family roles, and community expectations.
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Yes. Therapy can help you understand generational differences in migration stories, values, and coping, and how these play out in daily conflict. You can learn communication skills, boundary-setting, and ways to approach hard conversations that honor both your needs and your family’s background.
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Between sessions, practices like journaling about identity, tracking triggers, grounding exercises, and small boundary experiments with family can support change. Connecting with trusted community, engaging in meaningful cultural rituals, or learning more about your heritage can also strengthen resilience and a more grounded sense of self.
You Belong Here 🌟
Whether you’re the first in your family to seek therapy, or you’ve been on this journey for a while, we’re here to walk alongside you. Think of us as a mix of thought partners, compassionate guides, and cheerleaders. We’re here to help you rewrite the story you want to live. Your culture, your struggles, and your dreams all matter; and we’re honored to hold space for them.