TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 2-FULL ISSUE

144 Stacey Diane A. Litam “Take Your Kung-Flu Back to Wuhan”: Counseling Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders With Race-Based Trauma Related to COVID-19 Following the outbreak of COVID-19, reports of discrimination and violence against Asians and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have increased substantially. The present article offers a timely conceptualization of how public and societal fears related to COVID-19 may contribute to unique mental health disparities and the presence of race-based trauma among AAPIs residing in the United States. The relationships between media, increasing rates of xenophobia and sinophobia, and racial discrimination are provided. Next, the deleterious effects of race-based discrimination on the emotional and physical well-being of people of color and Indigenous groups (POCI) and AAPIs are described. Finally, the article identifies the clinical implications of counseling AAPI clients, encourages a decolonization of current trauma-focused interventions, and presents specific strategies to heal race-based trauma in AAPI client populations. Keywords: race-based trauma, discrimination, microinterventions, xenophobia, sinophobia The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to unparalleled events across the United States and worldwide. Hospitals, nursing homes, and medical settings were quickly overwhelmed, and the vulnerability of these systems became apparent. A lack of federal consistency and political infrastructure resulted in differences across levels, quality, and types of state support. On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. This sentiment was echoed by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020, who warranted the pandemic an emergency for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2020). A “shelter-in-place” order was instituted for many states and people were encouraged to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Indeed, the presence of COVID-19 has led to unprecedented times. However, the sociopolitical disparities illuminated by COVID-19 are not solely limited to institutional and political problems. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) represent the fastest growing ethnic or racial group in the United States. In 2015, approximately 20.9 million people identified as AAPIs (Lopez et al., 2017). As a group, AAPIs encompass 40 distinct subgroups, each of which demonstrates heterogeneity across language, educational background, religion, immigration/migration history, beliefs about mental health, and attitudes toward help-seeking behaviors. For the purpose of this article, AAPIs are people who have origins rooted in East, South, and Southeast Asian countries. The present article offers a timely conceptualization of how public and societal fears related to COVID-19 may contribute to unique mental health disparities and race-based trauma in AAPIs residing in the United States. The relationships between media, increasing rates of xenophobia and sinophobia, and racial discrimination are provided. Next, the deleterious effects of race-based discrimination on the emotional and physical well-being of people of color and Indigenous groups (POCI) and AAPIs Stacey Diane Arañez Litam, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, LPCC, is an assistant professor of counselor education at Cleveland State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Stacey Litam, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Julka Hall 275, Cleveland, OH 44115, s.litam@csuohio.edu. The Professional Counselor™ Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 144–156 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2020 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/sdal.10.2.144