A Psychologist's Guide to Culturally Adaptive Youth Support
- Dr Tiffany Leung
- Aug 2
- 9 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
🛑 Post-pandemic, distress among teens is rising, yet many from multicultural backgrounds remain unsupported, not due to lack of need, but because services weren’t built with their realities in mind.
🌍 Why Cultural Psychology Matters More Than Ever
You might already know that today’s young people are facing rising rates of anxiety, disconnection, and burnout.
But here’s what often gets missed: the emotional lives of young people are shaped not just by individual struggles, but by their cultural realities.
Being a teenager today doesn’t just mean navigating school, friendships, and identity.
It often means doing so while carrying layers of cultural complexity.
Whether born into multicultural families, having migrated across borders, or constantly shifting between languages and norms, many teens grow up with more than one “map” for how life should work — they’re doing more than multitasking.
They are in fact navigating multiple value systems in a single day, and translating their identity across worlds.
Post-pandemic, schools and families are reporting record levels of emotional distress. But many young people — especially those from multicultural backgrounds — aren’t seeking help. Not because they’re uninterested, but because the systems weren’t designed for them.
And if we don’t bring cultural psychology into how we support them, we risk missing the root of their distress — or their strength.
“If you’re a parent wondering why your teen feels so overwhelmed, read this blog post.”
🧩 Asha’s Story: Living Between Two Worlds
Imagine this:
A 15-year-old named Asha walks into school where she's encouraged to speak up, share her thoughts, and express her personal vision.
At home, she hears a different message: “Listen to your parents. Do what’s expected.”
Her parents don’t speak English fluently, and although Asha still speaks their home language, she’s starting to struggle with complex words—especially when it comes to explaining her emotions.
She moves between two worlds:
Balancing conflicting expectations
Navigating peer groups who don’t quite “get” her
Watching videos from three continents every night
Asha is toggling between identities, doing emotional labour most adults don’t see.
This is the quiet complexity that many multicultural teens carry.
“Want to hear more directly from Gen Z about how they feel? Explore this companion post.”
🧠 Culture Is More Than Heritage. It’s the Emotional Landscape
Culture isn’t just about ethnicity or language. It includes:
Family expectations and generational beliefs
Gender roles and social norms
Class, faith, and migration histories
Digital subcultures and emotional vocabulary
Without culturally attuned support, young people may feel they must choose between parts of themselves — leading to internal conflict, shame, or silence.
Dr. Lisa Kiang’s research (2008) shows that adolescents with strong ethnic identity and culturally affirming environments experience lower depressive symptoms and greater wellbeing.
In contrast, teens who feel pressured to assimilate without space for cultural expression are more likely to experience emotional distress.
As PVEST (Spencer et al., 2006) explains, adolescents develop identity by navigating complex and sometimes contradictory pressures across home, school, and society — particularly acute in multicultural youth who are negotiating multiple systems simultaneously.
When we know the pressures shaping identity, we can respond with less judgment and more compassion.
“Youth identity is not formed in a vacuum — it’s shaped by how young people navigate stress, discrimination, and cultural expectations in their real environments.” — PVEST framework, Spencer et al., 2006
This is to say, our multicultural youth aren’t “confused”. They’re often translating themselves constantly.
A UK study found that teens who felt they had to “choose” between parts of themselves had worse mental health outcomes. Those who felt integrated in their identities reported better wellbeing.
When this is seen and affirmed, resilience grows.
When ignored, distress increases.
📊 What Teens Carry Internally vs. What Adults See Externally
What Teens May Carry Internally:
Shifting between languages and cultural norms
Pressure to meet family expectations vs. self-expression
Emotional fatigue from constant adaptation
What Adults Often See Externally:
Withdrawal or shutdown
Identity confusion or disconnection
Frustration or behavioural clashes
When we fail to see the internal emotional labour, we risk misreading a young person’s behaviour as rebellion or lack of motivation — rather than an attempt to survive culturally complex systems.
🔗 Want to hear how teens describe this from their own perspective? Read Feeling Overwhelmed? Gen Z’s Voice on Mental Health.
🚫 What Happens When Culture Is Ignored
In some families, mental health is taboo. In others, therapy is a last resort.
Too often, services fall into a “box-ticking” approach, assuming that naming someone’s ethnicity is enough. Mental health support that overlooks culture can unintentionally cause harm:
Using emotional frameworks that don’t fit the young person’s cultural lens
Misreading silence or discomfort as defiance, rather than emotional protection
Missing how racism, microaggressions, or family migration trauma shape symptoms
📉 A UK study showed racially minoritised adolescents, especially Asian and mixed-heritage teens, were less likely to improve in CAMHS services.
Not because they needed less support — but because the therapy didn’t fit.
Drs. Sue & Sue’s work on multicultural counselling (2016) emphasises the cost of culturally unresponsive care: misdiagnosis, mistrust, and dropout.
🔗 If you’re a parent wondering how to support your child, this companion piece walks through key insights.
🌍 What Culturally Adaptive Youth Support Looks Like
Culturally adaptive support means:
Cultural humility — asking, not assuming
Intersectional awareness — understanding how race, gender, class and neurodivergence interconnect
Cultural intelligence (CQ) — tuning into how values, emotion, and communication vary
Cultural fluency isn’t the goal. Attuned presence is. Though clinicians often report feeling underprepared, as training often stays theoretical.
What Culturally Adaptive Support Can Offer:
Space to reflect without needing to “choose sides”
Emotional language that fits across cultures
Attuned support for visible and invisible labour
We do not need to practice perfect support. Culturally Adaptive Support is about being present and reflective.
Real culturally adaptive support asks deeper questions:
What does safety look like for this young person?
What values guide their decisions?
How do their identities intersect with their mental health experience?
As Dr. Marc Brackett’s RULER framework shows, emotional literacy is culturally shaped. How anger is expressed or understood in Hong Kong may be different from Manchester. Helping young people name their emotions requires us to understand the emotional language they were raised with.
🔗 Practical guide on intercultural communication and competence by Dr. Tiffany Leung, for those wanting to go deeper into what cultural competence looks like in everyday communication — with family, clients, or colleagues.
🌱 Practical Ways Parents and Educators Can Be Culturally Adaptive
Ask: “What does safety look like for you?” Not all youth feel safe opening up verbally. Consider creative alternatives—art, music, movement.
Affirm cultural identity as a source of strength Whether it’s honouring holidays, language, or ancestral resilience, young people thrive when their cultural roots are recognised, not minimised.
Support emotional expression in multiple forms Some cultures may emphasise emotional restraint. Allow emotional exploration without judgment.
Bridge generational and digital gaps If you’ve never used TikTok or Discord, that’s okay — but don’t dismiss them. These platforms are shaping how young people express identity and find community.
Collaborate with community leaders and cultural educators Involve mentors, artists, or elders who reflect the young person’s world.
In therapy and schools, we can:
Include culturally diverse staff, languages, and imagery
Involve families in ways that respect different norms
Adjust metaphors or feedback styles to match cultural context
Ask: “What language do you use when you’re upset at home?”
UNICEF and WHO (2021) report that resilience is best supported when youth have space for community connection and cultural expression, not just individual coping.
In schools, Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond’s research shows that culturally responsive classrooms reduce behavioural referrals and improve academic and emotional engagement.
If you're wondering what these principles look like in action, outside the therapy room or classroom, let’s turn to creative, community-based approaches. These interventions help young people build identity, connection, and voice in culturally affirming ways.
🧩 From Principles to Practice: What This Looks Like in the Real World
If you're wondering what these principles look like in action, outside the therapy room or classroom, let’s turn to creative, community-based approaches. These interventions help young people build identity, connection, and voice in culturally affirming ways.
If you’re already asking yourself how to show up better, that’s a powerful first step.
🎭 Community-Based Interventions for Cultural Identity & Belonging
Drama & Playback Theatre for Identity Storytelling and performance help young people express cultural identity and process belonging. Playback Theatre has been used globally to reflect lived experiences in diverse groups.
Learn more: Pan Intercultural Arts – London
Research study: Youth Theatre and Cultural Identity
Multilingual Journaling and Narrative Workshops Journaling in more than one language helps bilingual teens explore emotions authentically. Narrative therapy through language allows integration of personal and cultural stories.
Study on emotional clarity: Child Development article on narrative identity
Intervention model: Narrative Journaling for Adolescents
Digital Mental Health Co-designed with Youth Apps and well-being check-ins created with youth input (especially multilingual users) show stronger engagement and trust.
Research: Digital Mental Health Design Study
AR & Collaborative Storytelling Games Augmented Reality (AR) games like LINA promote belonging and identity-building through co-creation and reflection.
Study: LINA AR School Game Study
Hip-Hop and Music Therapy Hip-Hop therapy programs allow minoritised youth to use music and lyrics to reflect, regulate, and reclaim identity. Outcomes include reduced distress and improved therapeutic rapport.
Background: Hip-Hop Therapy
Research: Empirical evaluation of effectiveness in urban youtth engagement
These are not “soft” programs.
They are evidence-based, culturally anchored ways to support emotional development, identity integration, and youth voice, especially in diverse and multilingual settings.
🧠 Culturally Responsive Therapy: A Lens, Not a Checkbox
What does this mean inside therapy rooms?
Culturally adaptive therapy doesn’t mean ticking diversity boxes — it means shifting how we listen and respond:
✅ It includes:
Cultural humility – continuously learning from each client’s lived experience
Intersectionality – how identity layers like race and gender shape mental health
Cultural intelligence (CQ) – the ability to attune to diverse norms and values
💬 Instead of asking “Where are you from?”
Try: “What helps you feel safe?” or “What do emotions sound like in your home language?”
🧪 In practice:
Ethno-CBT in UK private practice
Transcultural therapy groups in France
Narrative therapy (exploring life stories across cultures)
Multilingual support, including switch of language use during the sessions
Intersectional awareness
📊 A recent study of narrative therapy groups for refugee and migrant adolescents found significant improvements in emotional regulation, identity coherence, and therapeutic engagement — especially when young people could express themselves in their preferred language.
Denborough, D. et al., 2018, Dulwich Centre Foundation
These practices build bridges, not barriers. When culture is welcomed in the room, healing deepens.
🪞Final Reflection: Support Starts With Presence, Not Perfection
Young people today grow up in a pluralistic, globalised, high-pressure world.
Support matters, but only if it meets them where they are.
If you’re a parent, teacher, or supporter wondering, “How do I do this right?”, start with this:
You don’t need to have the same background or language as the young person.
You can:
Stay open to learning
Respect what you don’t fully understand
Make space for emotional complexity
🪞 Reflective Questions for Carers, Educators, Supporters:
Am I listening to who they are, not who I expect them to be?
Am I creating space to understand cultural complexity, or rushing to simplify it?
Am I modelling curiosity or certainty?
That is what culturally adaptive support looks like.
When young people feel seen in all parts of themselves, culture included, they don’t just survive. They thrive.
📢 If this article resonates, share it with someone raising or teaching across cultures. The conversation starts with us.
Article: Culturally Adaptive youth support
✍️ About the Author
Dr Tiffany Leung is an HCPC-registered psychologist working with culturally diverse youth and families across the UK, Europe, and Asia. She integrates cultural psychology, multilingual therapy, and creative interventions to support emotional resilience.
🔗 Learn more about my approach to Teen Counselling.
🧑🏫 Training available for professionals working with international students and multicultural youth.
📚 Reference List
(Emotional Literacy) Brackett, M. A. (2019). Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive. Celadon Books.
(Youth Identity) Kiang, L., Yip, T., & Fuligni, A. J. (2008). Ethnic identity and the daily psychological well-being of adolescents. Child Development, 79(3), 643–651.
(School Practice) Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future. Teachers College Press.
(Global Resilience) UNICEF (2021). The State of the World's Children 2021: On My Mind – Promoting, protecting and caring for children’s mental health.
(Therapy Competence) Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Wiley.
Spencer, M. B., et al. (2006) — Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST).
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