Therapist’s Guide - Holding Space for the (Lunar) New Year

By: Bohao Zhang, M.ED, LPC

Did you know that only 8.6% of Asian-Americans seek out mental health services (Abe-Kim et al., 2007)? That is nearly 3 times less than the general population nationwide (Spencer et al., 2010). This underutilization leads to an unfortunate underrepresentation of Asian mental health clinicians and a lack of awareness around mental health concerns that are specific to the Asian-American population. Thus, educating yourself about Asian customs will allow you to become a more approachable and connected clinician to a population that is traditionally difficult to engage in therapeutic spaces. In this article, you will learn about the origins of the most popular holiday celebrated by Asian and Asian-Americans: Lunar New Year.

What is this holiday?

In 2025, beginning January 28th, billions of people around the world prepare to celebrate the new year with their loved ones for a festival that can last up to 15 days! This preparation can span several days (or a full week!) depending on the length of the journey ahead. In America, the Lunar New Year isn't recognized as a national holiday, however, it's still widely celebrated, especially in areas with significant Asian communities like Chicago.

Background Information on LNY (or cheat sheet for your next trivia night)

In the US, we are all familiar with the Gregorian calendar: 12 months with 28-31 days in each month and an extra day in February every fourth year. Fun fact: Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar (#Trivia). However, many Asian countries use the lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon. Therefore, the Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the new year, which varies slightly each year but usually falls between late January and early February (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2025).

The More You Know...

Lunar New Year has many names: Spring Festival, Tết, Seollal, and Chinese New Year. A common assumption is that this holiday is exclusive to Chinese or Chinese-American people. However, Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian countries, including Vietnam, Korea, and Singapore. A common misconception is that the traditions and customs are uniform across nations, but actually, every culture puts their own spin on it. So it’s important when engaging in conversation, to be mindful that every individual has their own interpretation of traditions.

TL;DR

Whether you are a mental health clinician or just want to connect with someone who celebrates the Lunar New Year, here are some prompts that can help you hold space with those who celebrate this holiday: • How do you feel about celebrating the Lunar New Year this year? • What traditions do you and your loved ones follow? • What excites you about this time of year? If you have made it this far, thank you for your curiosity and interest. As we enter into an increasingly polarizing and political year, let’s continue to prioritize understanding cultures that differ from our own and growing our communities. Let’s continue to remember that regardless of which calendar you follow, there is enough room to hold space for everyone at the table. If you are interested in exploring and learning more, please reach out to our Intake Department at intakes@amkcounseling.com or by phone at (773) 413-9523

References:

Abe-Kim, J., Takeuchi, D. T., Hong, S., Zane, N., Sue, S., Spencer, M. S., . . . & Alegría, M. (2007). Use of mental health–related services among immigrant and US-born Asian Americans: Results from the National Latino and Asian American study. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 91-98. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica (2025, January 19). Lunar New Year. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lunar-New-Year Spencer, M., Chen, J., Gee, G., Fabian, C., & Takeuchi, D. (2010). Discrimination and mental health-related service use in a national study of Asian Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 100(12), 2410-2417.