Dr Phebe Brako, LMFT, LMHC, NCC

If you grew up in an immigrant household, chances are you've heard some version of this sentence: "I sacrificed everything for you." Maybe it was said after a disagreement. Maybe it came up when you changed careers. Perhaps it appeared unexpectedly during a conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with sacrifice. You forgot to call your mother back and somehow you're now discussing events that took place before you were born. If you know, you know!As a therapist and an immigrant...

"You've become too American." If you're a first- or second-generation immigrant, there's a good chance you've heard this phrase at least once. Maybe it was because you questioned a family rule. Maybe it was because you moved away. Maybe it was because you suggested therapy. Or maybe it was because you dared to say, "I don't think that's healthy." Suddenly, you're "too American." And every time I hear this, I have the same thought: Respectfully... you raised me here. The Identity Crisis Nobody...

A conversation about immigrant parents, timelines, aunties, and the emotional Olympics of being single past 30 There are few questions more powerful in immigrant communities than: “So… where is your husband?” Not "Hello." Not "How are you?" Not “Would you like more rice?” It is straight to marital status. It doesn’t matter if you just earned a doctorate, bought a home, launched a business, raised emotionally intelligent children, or healed three generations of family trauma. An auntie will...