- Mental Health
Beyond Words Psychological Services
This LLC, established by Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker, offers a directory of professional (medical and mental health) resources in the Denver Metro Area. Dr. Wirta-Leiker specializes in issues of race, identity, societal expectaion, family relationships, and adoption.
- Birth Family Search
CCI Birth Parent Searching and Reunion Group
This Facebook group aims to provide information, resources, and encouragement for adult Chinese adoptees who are seeking to find their birth family or are currently in reunion. They also have a confidential discussion forum for any questions or experiences that are wanting to be shared.
- Birth Family Search
Korean Adoptees searching for their birth families
This is a Facebook group for Korean adoptees who are searching for their birth families. It is open to all Korean adoptees to publish any photos and information about their adoption. There are also subgroups that are closed Facebook groups.
- Birth Family Search
Parents of Boys Adopted From China
This is a closed Facebook group that is for adoptive parents of boys adopted from China. It is a place of support and connection for parents, as well as for those who are processing and waiting to adopt their own son from China. It is also open to college aged/older males adopted from China.
- Birth Family Search
Korean American Adoptees (KAA)
The Korean American Adoptees Facebook group is a group for Korean adoptees to meet and discuss whatever topics they’d like. All members must be 18+.
- Birth Family Search
China – Birthparent search
Birthparent Search is a Facebook group for Chinese adoptees, adoptive parents of Chinese adoptees, and other close relatives of Chinese adoptees. The goal of this group is to provide support and resources for finding birthparents in China.
- Birth Family Search
Family Ties: Chinese Adoptee Birth Family Search
Family Ties is a Facebook group that offers guidance and support for people searching for birth families in China. This is NOT an advocacy group and is a platform solely for searching, guidance, and support.
- Birth Family Search
China Family Search
China Family Search is a resource page for those in the Chinese adoption community interested in birth family searching. It offers information and resources for both the adoptive parent and the adoptee. This source would be a good starting point for Chinese adoptees interested in searching and their parent.
- Birth Family Search
Research-China
Research-China.org is an informational website detailing the sociopolitical circumstances of China starting from the causes of the One Child Policy up to recent happenings that affect adoption or are a direct cause of it. It features an adoptive father’s experience with his adoption and helping his daughters conduct a birth family search. This resource is for those interested in the politics behind adoption and its history.
- Birth Family Search
The Roots of Love
The Roots of Love is a Chinese adoptee family reunion project with multiple professional searchers on location. They offer free DNA testing to potential birth relatives and share birth relative contact info for free. This organization would best benefit Chinese adoptees actively searching for birth family.
- Birth Family Search
Korea Adoption Services
Korea Adoption Services’s “Searching for Adoptees” webpage is for birth families searching for their biological children. For adoptees searching for their birth families, there is an additional page called “Searching for Birth Family.” KAS offers post-adoption services, too. The posted story will be translated in Korean and get posted on a Family Search board of Korean webpage as well. This source can apply to and most benefit Korean adoptees or birth families who want to search for one another.
- Birth Family Search
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Boston
The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Boston’s Birth Family Search Process for Adoptee’s webpage gives steps and information on how to do a birth family search. Official paperwork in PDF format is available and a flow chart is also accessible to the public. This source can apply to and most benefit Korean adoptees who are interested in birth family search.
- Birth Family Search
International Child Search Alliance (ICSA)
The International Child Search Alliance (ICSA) is a “ all-volunteer international group of adoptees and adoptive parents founded in November 2018.” They offer reliable information and promote awareness in China of adoptees’ desire to know their birth families. This source applies to and most benefit Chinese adoptees who are interested in birth family search.
- Birth Family Search
DNA Testing for Asian Adoptees
From GenePeace DNA Consulting, this document serves as a guide on DNA testing. This document can apply to and most benefit those who are interested in exploring how “DNA can be used specifically for people of Asian ancestry, including Asian international adoptees and adoptees of mixed Asian heritage (domestic or internationally adopted). “ This guide is packed with information and suggests additional resources.
The Nanchang Project: “Chinese Adoptee DNA”
From the Nanchang Project facebook page, this infographic is a flow chart about Chinese adoptee DNA. This source can apply to and most benefit Chinese adoptees who are overwhelmed by all the places you can add DNA.
- Birth Family Search
Journey Across Forever – China Birth Parent Search Group
Journey Across Forever is a closed group for adoptive parents with children from China who are searching for birth parents, foster parents, finders, etc. There are networking resources, steps to take when searching, and other resources that provide information on the process.
- Birth Family Search
China DNA
China DNA is a group that does DNA analysis to help adoptees connect to their Chinese ancestry, genealogy, and heritage.
- Birth Family Search
A Family in China
An archive of a podcast that discusses the searching journey in multiple perspectives (adoptees, birth parents, & searchers). This source can apply to and most benefit those who are invested in learning more about this topic.
- Birth Family Search
Nikwi Hoogland
In an Instagram page in blog-like format, this source offers a personal look at an adoptee’s thoughts and experiences surrounding her identity and reunion experience. This source can apply to and most benefit adoptees who are wondering about an experience like this.
- Birth Family Search
“2018 I WENT TO CHINA TO SEARCH FOR MY BIRTH FAMILY * 2018年寻找中国亲生父母”
In this short youtube documentary (link to full TV documentary is in the description), an adoptee shares her experience of going to China to search for her birth family. She explains the controversies surrounding her choice and encourages others to search for their birth families.This source can apply to and most benefit adoptees who are wondering about an experience like this.
- Birth Family Search
Bao Bei Hui Jia
Bao Bei Hui Jia is a Chinese birth family searching site where you can post searching posters for free. You can provide information like birthday, missing time, family seeker characterization, possible memories, etc. This site is for Chinese adoptees or adoptive parents searching on behalf of their child.
- Birth Family Search
CCI (China’s Children International): Searching Resources
CCI’s Birth Parent Search and Reunion Resource Guide is a compilation of birth family searching resources for Chinese adoption community, offering various tips, strategies, platforms, etc. This source is for people of the Chinese adoption community interested in birth family searching.
- Birth Family Search
Nanchang Project
The Nanchang Project is a program dedicated to creating a community and resources (DNA testing, searching) for Chinese adoptees searching for birth family. They provide a space to connect, educate, and support the community. This resource best benefits Chinese adoptees searching for birth family or parents searching on behalf of their children
- LGBTQ+
CCI (China’s Children International) Pride
This is a private Facebook group created by CCI (China’s Children International) for those who identify as LGBTQ+ individuals. It is for Chinese adoptees and is open to all ages. It’s a network to discuss issues and topics relating to Chinese adoptees and the LGBTQ+ community.
- Adoptee Groups
Subtle Asian Adoptee Traits
This is a Facebook group for all Asian adoptees to connect with each other. It posts daily and is a space mainly for the discourse of adoptee and Asian identities. They also have Zoom meetings sometimes.
- Adoptee Groups
Adoptiepedia
This group aims to provide adoption information for Chinese and Taiwanese adoptees as well as organize activities for adoptees such as support groups. It is based in the Netherlands and is for all Dutch speaking Chinese and Taiwanese adoptees.
- Adoptee Groups
Confessions of a Chinese Adoptee
This group tells adoptees’ stories in order to help empower other adoptees in their self-growth and change the narrative of adoption. It has resources for all adoptees including Chinese adoptees.
- LGBTQ+
House of Rainbow
House of Rainbow’s services can most apply to and benefit LGBTQ+ people of color and faith. The organization works to combat religious homophobia and also validates LGBTQ religious individuals. It offers 1:1 support, group gatherings, and training workshops. On the website you can learn more about their services and the work they do.
- LGBTQ+
National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN)
This organization works to advance healing justice by transforming mental health for queer and trans people of color. They have lists of community and practitioner resources including crisis hotlines, as well as a therapy directory. This source is great for all minority communities and mental health services can be filtered by city or zip code. You can also request to join the directory as well.
- LGBTQ+
Trikone
This is a registered non-profit organization for LGBTQ people of South Asian descent in the Bay Area (CA). It’s 100% volunteer-based and they’re always looking for volunteers. They also provide a Desi LGBTQ Helpline. They have two subgroups: Women of Trikone and Parents @ Trikone. They also have resources and events.Their mission is to unite people amd affirm their South Asian identity and sexual orientation.
- LGBTQ+
Satrang
This non-profit organization serves the South Asian LGBTQ community by promoting awareness, acceptance and empowerment through social, educational and advocacy-related events. You are able to volunteer for and attend their events and donate. They are based in Los Angeles, so this is a good organization for any LA based LGBTQ South Asians.
- LGBTQ+
Massachusetts Asian + Pacific Islanders for Health (MAP)
This organization aims to provide a safe space where API LGBTQ+ youth (ages 16-25) can come together to find support and make friends. They have drop-in centers, peer events, resources and animal-assisted therapy. They work with the Chinatown neighborhood and the greater Boston area; programs and organizations with similar objectives; school and university resource centers; as well as health centers and local businesses. This is a great resource for API LGBTQ+ individuals in the Boston area.
- LGBTQ+
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
This organization empowers LGBTQ+ API and is a federation of small, volunteer-run groups across the country. They provide capacity building, advocacy, convenings and representation pledges. They also have social media accounts to connect with them (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and are based in New York.
- LGBTQ+
PFLAG NYC: API Parents & Caregivers Group
This group meets twice a month for a lunchtime discussion for API parents and caregivers whose children are part of the LGBTQ+ community. They are based in New York City but have virtual meetings on zoom. They also have an events calendar for anyone who can or wants to attend. This is a parent resource for API parents who have LGBTQ+ children.
- LGBTQ+
Rainbow LGBTQ Asians
This is an online Facebook group that is a safe space for LGBTQ+ Asians from all over to chat and share experiences and media which discuss the issues that LGBTQ+ Asians face. It is a private group with 84 members.
- LGBTQ+
AsiaPacifiQueer: Rethinking Genders and Sexualities
This is an interdisciplinary essay collection which examines the shaping of local queer cultures in the Asian Pacific region in order to move beyond definitonis and understandings of sexuality and gender that rely on Western assumptions.
- Mental Health
Subtle Asian Mental Health
The Subtle Aisan Mental Health Facebook group’s services can most apply to and benefit those of Asian descent who want to be a part of an online community with a focus on mental health. The private group has 61.6k members and is supposed to be a safe space. You are encouraged to share anything you want about your feelings, thoughts, cultural issues, intergenerational trauma, and any other related topics. Comments are heavily moderated with the intention that everyone is treated with respect. Additional resources are provided within the group.
- Mental Health
Project Lotus
The Lotus Project’s services can most apply to and benefit those who are interested in Asian American mental health advocacy. The mission is to destigmatize mental health in Asian-American communities by “tackling the model minority stereotype through culturally-relevant education for the community and the empowerment of voices.” The website features stories from the community, articles, webinars, workshops, and their podcast.
- Mental Health
AA & NH/PI Health Central Directory
The AA & NH/PI Health Central Directory members of the AAPI community who want more information on health. You can search by Region AANHPI subgroup, and focus. On the short profiles you can read the summary and be linked to the organization’s website.
- Mental Health
National Library of Medicine: “Discrimination and Mental Health–Related Service Use in a National Study of Asian Americans”
From the National Library of Medicine, this academic article can most apply to and benefit anyone who is interested in learning more about the association between perceived discrimination and use of mental health services. With data coming from the National Latino and Asian American Study, conclusive results indicate a need for more bilingual services and collaborations between formal service systems and community resources.
- Mental Health
Asians Do Therapy
Asians Do Therapy, is a website that can most apply to and benefit anyone in the AAPI community who needs some motivation to start. The website is packed with testimonials (including some by famous people), tips on how to start, and guides to finding a therapist. There is also a resource page with additional recommended articles, videos, and podcasts. The website in its whole is meant to destigmatize therapy for Asians.
- Mental Health
NYU Langone Health: NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health
The NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH) is based in NYU Langone’s Section for Health Equity. Its services can most apply to and benefit anyone interested in the research and evaluation of Asian American health and health disparities. The webpage explains the sections on the background of the organization, its approach + guiding principles, research tracks, career development, and community engagement + dissemination resources.
- Mental Health
Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI)
The Asian American Health Initiative’s services can most apply to and benefit AAPI in Montgomery County. As a part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, AAHI assists with many programs, projects, and activities. Within the webpage, you can find a good resource page with documents in many languages, a mental health provider directory, and information on their many other programs
- Mental Health
Asian & Pacific Island American Health Forum (APIAHF)
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum’s services can most apply to and benefit the health of the AAPI community. Though influencing policy, mobilizing communities, and strengthening programs + organizations, the APIAHF supports the health of the AAPI community. It is the oldest and largest health advocacy org providing policy and political analysis, research, and communication strategies.
- Mental Health
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA)
NAPAFASA* (National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse)’s serves and works with AAPI communities on intiatives and projects addressing behavioral health in within the community. NAPAFASA is a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to mental health advocacy through research, efforts at public health and policy reform, and community empowerment. The organization has AAPI community roots but also works with people from all backgrounds. They advocate for direct participation and aim to connect people with knowledge.
Korean American Wellness Association (KAWA)
The Korean American Wellness Association (KAWA)’s services can apply to and especially benefit Korean Americans. The website is in Korean, you can search in directories for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychotherapists. In each directory, you can search by keywords and numerous categories. In each profile, you can find info regarding specialties served, language, financial information, and contact information.
- Mental Health
HealthRIGHT 360
HealRight360’s services can apply to and benefit most in the California area. The organization offers primary medical care, mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, social support & re-entry, and dental services. They also offer numerous other programs. There is an Asian American specific program called the Asian American Recovery Services (AARS) around the Bay Area.
- Mental Health
Asian Health Services
Asian Health Service (AHS)’s mission is to “ serve and advocate for the medically underserved, including the immigrant and refugee Asian community and to ensure equal acess to healthcare services regardless of income, insurance status, language, or culture.” Services can apply to and benefit most in the Oakland, CA area. AHS is a healthcare provider that offer a complete range of medical, dental, and mental health services for all ages.
- Mental Health
Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers (APCTC)
Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers ( APCTC)’s services can apply to and benefit API of all ages in the Southern California area. APCTC services are offered throughout Southern California within its seven locations. Call and talk about your needs with the cell phone numbers provided online. The website also contains a resource page.
- Mental Health
William James College: “Guide for Parents of Asian/Asian American Adolescents”
From William James College Center of Excellence for Multicultural and Global Mental Health (CMGMH), this guide will most apply to and benefit parents of Asian/Asian American Adolescents. The guide and accompanying video is available in six languages. The guide covers the history of Asian-American Discrimination in the U.S, history of Asians fighting discrimination, why it’s important to talk about it, how to talk about it, and further resources.
- Mental Health
Health Matters: “‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’: The Impacts of Microaggressions on the AAPI Community”
From Health Matters, Dr.Warren Ng’s (child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist) discussion can most apply to and benefit anyone who wants to educate themselves on how microaggressions affect the AAPI Community. In the article, Dr. Ng discusses the historical roots of microaggressions, how they can lead to physical assaults, the mental toll they take on Asian Americans, and how to be an ally.
- Mental Health
HuffPost: “How To Find A Therapist Who Focuses On Asian American Mental Health”
From the HuffPost, this article can most apply to and benefit anyone who is part of the AAPI community who is interested in finding a culturally competent therapist. The article explains the importance of finding a safe space for AAPI to share freely through real accounts and gives other recommendations on finding a right therapist. There is also a list of recommended therapist directories one could utilize.
- Mental Health
APA: “Recommendations for the Treatment of Asian-American/Pacific Islander Populations”
From the American Psychological association, this article can most apply to and benefit anyone who is part of the AAPI community or practitioners who are interested in understanding how AAPI should be treated in a mental health aspect. Sections in this guide include implications for culturally competent care, myths and misinformation, inadequacies of traditional mental health care, culture-specific views of mental health and healing, and more. There are good references to take a look at.
- Mental Health
APA: “Resources from the Ethnicity and Health in America Series”
From the American Psychological Association, this article can most apply to and benefit anyone who would like to know how national heritage months impact the health of ethnic populations. Through the Ethnicity and Health in America Series, there are resources given on stress and acculturation among Asian-Americans. There are also other AAPI Resources.
- Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): “Asian American and Pacific Islander”
From the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this article can most apply to and benefit anyone who is interested in AAPI mental health. The source is packed with information with sections on Barriers to Mental Health Care, How to Seek Culturally Competent Care, and a resource list. There are also multiple subcategories to explore within the larger ones.
- Mental Health
Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS)
ACRS promotes social justice and the well-being and empowerment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities – including immigrants, refugees, and American-born – by developing, providing and advocating for innovative, effective and efficient community-based multilingual and multicultural services. ACRS services are available by appointment only.
- Mental Health
Inclusive Therapists
: Inclusive Therapist’s services can apply to and especially benefit underrepresented communities. With its mission to be a “mental health liberation movement creating change through decolonial education, collective care, and activism.” Inclusive Therapist has a detailed filter system within its directory. You can search by name, keyword, location, insurance, language, service, and specialty. Professional profiles are very detailed as well.
- Mental Health
Asian American Federation: Mental Health Directory
AA Federation Mental Health Directory can apply to and especially benefit the AAPI community as it’s known as the “first-ever asian mental health directory that speaks your language”. Its focus is on Asian New Yorkers. You can search by term and use filters to gain a better search. On profiles you can find information on the name, address, modality, email, website, clinical services, non-clinical services, credentials, language, and m
- Mental Health
Southasiantherapists.org
Summary: South Asian Therapists’ directory is “the largest South Asian mental health therapist community in the world”. This directory is international with a focus on the U.S, Canada, and the UK. You can refine your location, session type, and language. On profiles you can learn more about the language served, types of clients, session types, bio, and contact information.
- Mental Health
Bridges
Bridges’ services can apply to and especially benefit the APISA (Asian Pacific Islanders, South Asian Americans) seeking culturally-affirming therapy and mental health care. The website offers a resource page, blog, and a clinician directory. In the directory you can search by modalities, location, issues treated, insurance, and practice details. The professional profiles have an “about me” summary, issues treated, treatment approaches practice details (insurance, accepting clients, etc.), accepted insurance, experience, info (pronouns, ethnicity, phone, email, address) location of practice, and services offered (modality, telemedicine).
- Mental Health
Asian Pacific Community Counseling
Asian Pacific Community Counseling (APCC)’s services can apply to and especially benefit Asian Americans who live in the California area. They offer the Transcultural Wellness Center (TWC), the Supporting Community Connections (SCC), and the Family Wellness Center (FWC). These organizations for mental health are culturally and linguistically appropriately handled.
- Mental Health
Asian American Psychological Association: AAPA Fellows
The Asian American Psychological Association advocates “on behalf of Asian Americans as well as advancing Asian American psychology”. The association is for candidates who fulfill the minimum requirements and have outstanding impact/scholarship contributions to Asian American psychology. The work done by it’s members positively impacts and supports Asian Americans psychology. Within AAPA there are 8 divisions, including one on multiracial and adopted Asian Americans which seeks to 1) connect individuals so that we might better serve our communities, and 2) develop a home and community for adopted and multiracial Asian Americans within AAPA.
- Mental Health
Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC)
The Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC) ’s services can apply to and benefit especially AAPI with its mission to “normalize and de-stigmatize mental health within the Asian community.” Within the site there is a U.S and Canadian therapist directory. On these directories there are detailed filters such as by issue, age group, finance information, modalities, and more. On the therapist profiles, there is detailed information. There is also a resource/ org directory that can be searched by location or category
- Mental Health
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA)
The National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) ’s services can apply to and benefit especially AAPI with its mission to “promote the mental health and well being of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.” The NAAPIMHA provides training, resources ( for all 50 states), advocacy opportunities, and has been involved in numerous projects.) The AANHPI Service Provider sheet provides resources listed for all 50 states. Organization, addresses, phone numbers, and websites are listed.
- Mental Health
South Asian Mental Health Initiative & Network (SAMHIN)
The SAMHIN (South Asian Mental Health Initiative & Network)’s services can apply to and especially benefit the South Asian community in the United States. On its provider directory, which currently has 248 providers listed, you can search by location, name, and category. On professional profiles, you can find hours, financial information, contact information, and more. It is a recommendation to call the provider to confirm information such as accepted insurance.
- Mental Health
Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA): “Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders”
The ADAA (Anxiety & Depression Association of America) can be a valuable source for everyone with its mission to “prevent, treat, and cure anxiety disorders and depression.” It also has a webpage dedicated to Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. On this resource page, you can find yearly trending articles, infographics, ADAA member relevant resources, and AAPI provider directories.
- Mental Health
Asians for Mental Health
The Asians for Mental Health Directory ’s services are for the members of the AAPI community seeking to improve their mental health. In the directory you can search by state. On profiles, you can find contact information, specializations, practice details and more. It is recommended to confirm credentials and qualifications yourself.
- Literature
The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption
This is a picture book that talks about the process of adoption from China. It shows the steps from the adoption-agency paperwork to interviews to approval and finally being able to travel to China.
- Literature
The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale
This book is based on the ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together. In this story, a king and queen rule a beautiful and peaceful land. They should be full of joy and contentment, but they both feel a strange pain that worsens every day. Then a peddler’s magic spectacles reveal a red thread pulling at each of their hearts. The king and queen know they must follow the thread–wherever it may lead.
- Literature
The Red Blanket
Eliza Thomas went to China in 1994 to adopt her daughter PanPan, who was then 5 months old. This is their story. It is a touching and beautiful adoption story that reveals the challenges as well as the joys of forming a new family. It is a story about a little girl who needed a mommy and a forgotten blanket that needed a little girl and a woman who needed them both. This is a journey about the forming of a family.
- Literature
Ten Days and Nine Nights: An Adoption Story
Follow a little girl as she and her family prepare for the new baby that will soon be joining them. And simultaneously, watch the girl’s mother fly off to Korea, meet the new baby, and bring her home. Here is an utterly simple, sweet, and child-centric look at the adoption process through the eyes of a soon-to-be older sibling. From cutting a red paper heart and taping it above the new baby’s crib to telling her best friend about the adoption, the young narrator counts down every day and night with growing anticipation, marking them with a big X on her calendar. This is also perfect for older children who are about to become big sisters and brothers.
- Literature
Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
This is a true story about life in a Saigon orphanage, a dramatic rescue flight from Vietnam to Canada, adoption by a Canadian family, and growing up in Canada. It tells the story of the last Canadian airlift operation that left Saigon and arrived in Toronto on April 13, 1975. Son Thi Anh Tuyet was one of 57 babies and children on that flight. Based on personal interviews and enhanced with archive photos, Tuyet’s story of the Saigon orphanage and her flight to Canada is an emotional and suspenseful journey that is brought to life in this book.
- Literature
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes
This tells the story of a woman who travels to China to adopt a baby girl. It is based on the author’s own experiences and is a celebration of the love and joy a baby brings into the home.
- Literature
All You Can Ever Know
Cheung is a Korean transracial adoptee from Oregon and was born severely premature. She grew up knowing her adoption story as a “comforting, prepackaged myth”. As she grew up, she began to face prejudice, find her Asian American identity and became more curious about her origins. In this memoir, Cheung tells of the “search for the people who gave her up, which coincided with the birth of her own child”. It is a “profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections and the repercussions of unearthing painful family secrets—vital reading for anyone who has ever struggled to figure out where they belong”.
- Literature
Palimpsest: Documents From a Korean Adoption
Sjöblom was adopted from Korea at two years old into a Swedish home. Throughout her childhood, she struggled to fit in and was constantly told to suppress her feelings of wanting to know more about her origins. Thus, she learned to bury the feelings of abandonment, like many other adoptees. In this illustrated memoir, “Sjöblom’s unaddressed feelings about her adoption come to a head when she is pregnant with her first child [and] she discovers a document containing the names of her biological parents”. She realizes “her own history may not match up with the story she’s been told her whole life: that she was an orphan without a background”. She ends up digging more into her background by traveling to Korea and the orphanage and finds out that the truth is “more complicated than the story she was told and struggled to believe”.
- Literature
The Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, Their Journey to America, and the Search for a Missing Past
This book presents a cultural history of the events that led to the controversial one-child policy in China and the generation-long abandonment of Chinese daughters to American families.
- Literature
Lucky Girl: A Memoir
In this true story, journalist Mei-Ling Hopgood, one of the first wave of Asian adoptees to arrive in America, “comes face to face with her past when her Chinese birth family suddenly requests a reunion after more than two decades. | In 1974, a baby girl from Taiwan arrived in America, the newly adopted child of a loving couple in Michigan”. Hopgood had an “all-American upbringing, never really identifying with her Asian roots or harboring a desire to uncover her ancestry”. | When Hopgood was in her twenties, her birth family showed up. They end up being “a boisterous, loving, bossy, complicated middle-class family who hound her daily life by phone, fax, and letter, in a language she doesn’t understand until she returns to Taiwan to meet them. As her sisters and parents pull her into their lives, claiming her as one of their own, the devastating secrets that still haunt this family begin to emerge. Spanning cultures and continents, Lucky Girl brings home a tale of joy and regret, hilarity, deep sadness, and great discovery as the author untangles the unlikely strands that formed her destiny”.
- Literature
A Single Square Picture: A Korean Adoptee’s Search for Her Roots
Kim Ji-yun, who grew up in Seoul, Korea soon became Catherine Jeanne Robinson, who had an American family and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. Twenty years later, she returned to Seoul in search of her birth mother and found herself “an American outsider in her native land”. Katy was left “conflicted, shattered, exhilarated, and moved in ways she never imagined”. This book is “a personal odyssey that ascends to the universal”, and is “a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned their place in the world — and had the courage to find the answers”.
- Scholarships
Asian Pacific Fund: Apply for Scholarships
The Asian Pacific Fund offers a wide range of scholarships with varying recipient amounts and qualifications.
- Scholarships
SmartScholar: Scholarships for Chinese Students
A scholarship directory that features scholarships for Chinese Students with descriptions of the requirements, qualifications, award amount, date and links.
- Scholarships
goingmerry: “30 Valuable Scholarships for Asian American Students in 2023”
List of 30 scholarships for Asian American Students, with description that includes amount, provider, eligibility requirements, and application requirements.
- Media
Adopted (2008)
Adopted tells the story of two adoptees and their families. One family is a couple preparing for the adoption of a baby girl. The other, a 32 year old adoptee from Korea that has struggled to speak with her adoptive parents her whole life about adoption. The two stories are at opposite ends of the adoption process, but both stories converge to show that love alone is not enough to make a family work.
- Media
The Drop Box (2015)
Pastor Lee Jong Rak is a pastor in South Korea. His ‘drop box’ is a space where children can be placed if the parent decides to give up their child. Throughout the film, Pastor Lee emphasizes the special value of each child’s life, and how God has a plan for the little ones. The documentary focuses on his work with adoption and the babies placed inside his ‘drop box’.
- Medical Needs
No Hands But Ours
No Hands But Ours focuses on the children currently being abandoned in China with special medical needs. The organization contains resources for those in the process of adopting a child from China, already home with their adopted child, or just researching special needs. It was founded and is maintained by adoptive parents that specifically focus on special needs adoption from China. The website comprises information regarding specific special needs, family stories, resources (such as before travel and the first year at home) and also opportunities to connect locally and virtually.
- Media
Found (2021)
The story of three adopted Chinese-American teenage girls who discover they’re blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost history and travel back to China.
- Media
Approved for Adoption (2012)
An animated film about a young Korean boy joining a Belgium family and his return to his birth country. The story follows him over the course of his life, and the times when his adoption influenced whether or not he felt accepted.
- Media
Somewhere Between (2011)
A documentary on four different teenage girls adopted from China under the One Child Policy who are currently living in the United States. The film explores their struggles with racism, identity formation, belonging, and race and gender.
- Mental Health
InnoPsych
InnoPsych is dedicated to bringing “healing to communities of color by changing the face and feel of therapy.” Their goal is to make therapists of color more accessible. The search directory tool allows users to filter by location, specialty, service type, ethnicity, and insurance type.
- Mental Health
No Hands But Ours: “Preparing for Adoption: A Family Therapist’s Perspective”
An article on preparing for adoption by Ashley Yeager, a family therapist and Trust-Based Relational Intervention Practitioner. She incorporates a spiritual feel, and explains different steps for prospective adoptive parents to take.
- Birth Family Search
Lion (2016)
The extraordinary birth search family based on a true story. When a little boy from India gets lost on a train and taken thousands of miles away from home gets adopted by an Australian couple. With his unforgettable memories, his determination, and the online technology Google Earth, 25 years later Saroo sets out to find his first home.
- Birth Family Search
Twin Sisters (2013)
This documentary film is happy and heartwarming about twin sisters who are adopted by two separate families who find their way back to each other via social media. This movie brings up topics such as growing, learning, understanding, and identity.
- Birth Family Search
First Person Plural (2000)
This documentary film tells the true story of an 8-year old girl who is adopted by an American family, only to discover years later that she has a birth family in Korea. The documentary explores themes of identity, race, assimilation, and birth family reunion.
- Birth Family Search
Searching for Go-Hyang (1998)
This film is about twin sisters who are adopted into the US but return back to Korea 14 years later in hopes of exploring and reconnecting with their homeland and roots. This story addresses issues of national identity and cross cultural adoption.
- Birth Family Search
aka DAN: Korean Adoption Documentary
Dan Matthews is a Korean adoptee who journeys back to Korea to reunite with his biological family, including a twin brother he never knew he had. He has all this documented and shared on his YouTube channel for his fans/followers to follow along to.
- Birth Family Search
Twinsters (2015)
This documentary tells the true-life story of identical twin sisters separated at birth who discover each other online. They meet and confirm their identity with a DNA test, and they set out to explore aspects of their background together. One twin lives in the US while the other twin lives in France.
- Birth Family Search
Blue Bayou (2021)
A Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make ends meet for his family. However, he must confront ghosts of his past when he discovers he could be deported from the US and sent back to South Korea.
- Media
One Child Nation (2019)
This film includes the various diverse perspectives on the one child policy that China implemented in 1980, from the people who carried out the policy to the people who fell victim to the policy. This film is for anyone interested in learning about one of China’s biggest and most impactful planning initiatives. It’s an eye-opening documentary to give new perspectives and understandings of the causes and effects of the policy.
- Birth Family Search
International Child Search Alliance (ICSA)
ICSA is an all-volunteer international group of adoptees and adoptive parents offering multiple sources of information to help adoptees from China search for their birth families. Advice is given on ‘Getting Started’, ‘Hiring a Searcher’, ‘Birth Parents Searching for Children’, and more. There is also How-To-Guides that include DNA testing, using the app WeChat, Joining a Province Search, visiting the CCCWA, and more.
- Race Education
NPR: “How ‘Ching Chong’ Became The Go-To Slur For Mocking East Asians”
A short article on the history and prevalence of a racist slur used against Asian people.
- Race Education
Vice: “Why People Still Laugh at Asian Accents: An Investigation”
“An explanation of the racism involved when people mock Asian accents, and the way Asian accents are still laughed at today.”
