Alumna Sahaj Kohli (master's, Counseling) published her new book, But What Will People Say? Navigating Mental Health, Identity, Love, and Family Between Cultures. Through the chapters, she explores challenges faced by children of immigrants and offers tips on how to work through them.
She was interviewed by CNN in their article, "She told her parents she was depressed and needed therapy. Their response is at the heart of her new book." Per the article, her parents worried how others might perceive her mental health struggles and tried to manage the situation on their own. It wasn’t that they weren’t concerned about her, Kohli adds — they were simply conditioned to think in terms of the family unit and community, believing their daughter’s depression could be seen as a failure on their part.“We care so much about what other people will think that we forget about the people within the community or within the families who might be hurting,” Kohli said in the interview.
The article explains, "Part memoir and part self-help, the book draws on Kohli’s personal experiences and her work as a therapist to help children of immigrants process their emotions, improve their family dynamics and develop a clearer sense of self."
Ms. Kohli is the founder of Brown Girl Therapy, the first and largest mental health and wellness community organization for adult children of immigrants. She is also a licensed therapist and a columnist for the Washington Post's advice column, "Ask Sahaj."