Episode 14:
Mental Health and the Asian Community with Anise Health
with Israa Nasir, Director of Clinical Strategy at Anise Health
What if the problem isn’t you but that mental health care was never built with you in mind?
In this episode, Israa Nasir shares why culture matters so deeply in therapy. Drawing from her work as a trained therapist and Director of Clinical Strategy & Operations at Anise Health, Israa explains how cultural context quietly shapes our beliefs, family dynamics, and coping strategies—and why integrating culture from the very first session leads to more effective learning and healing. She offers a clear, grounded perspective on what culturally attuned care actually looks like in practice and why it makes such a meaningful difference for Asian communities.
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“Therapy is not meant to break you away from your family. It is meant to find ways to become closer in ways that is healthy and safe for both people.”
Israa Nasir
What you learn in this episode:
- Why Asian Americans are among the least likely to access mental health care, even when there’s a clear need
- How stigma, language, structural barriers, and the model minority myth delay care until crisis
- What culturally attuned care actually looks like in practice – not just ethnic matching, but evidence-based training, systems design, and clinical integrity
- The comprehensive support structures that Anise Health provides
- Why healing in Asian families doesn’t have to mean cutting ties and how repair without rupture is possible
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About the Organization
Anise Health is a mission-driven mental health organization dedicated to serving diverse and historically underserved communities. The platform offers an evidence-based model of care that centers cultural context from the very beginning—designed to better support people of color than traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches to therapy. Through a holistic, culturally attuned care model, Anise Health works to reduce disparities in mental health access and outcomes. Their work within the Asian community shows higher engagement and stronger continuity of care, demonstrating how culturally responsive support can meaningfully improve mental health experiences for BIPOC individuals.
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About the Guest
Israa Nasir is a trained therapist and the current Director of Clinical Strategy at Anise Health. She has extensive experience in clinical strategy and program development. Born in Pakistan, raised as an expat in the Middle East, then as an immigrant in Toronto, Canada, Israa grew up navigating many cultures. Her global upbringing taught her a deep appreciation for the beauty of different cultures. She is also a speaker and author of Toxic Productivity. She has held leadership roles at startups focused on bridging gaps in mental health access and innovation. Israa is excited to develop initiatives that redefine mental health care delivery and create last impact.
Find Israa:
Resources
Su-Kubricht, L. P., Chen, H.-M., Guo, S., & Miller, R. B. (2025). Towards culturally sensitive care: Addressing challenges in Asian and Asian American mental health services. Contemporary Family Therapy, 47, 202–215. Access here.
Lu, F. Q., Flores, M. W., Carson, N. J., Le, T., & Cook, B. L. (2025). Trends and disparities in mental health use among Asian American sub-groups, 2013–2019. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 12(6), 3783–3792. Access here.
Kim, S. B., & Lee, Y. J. (2021). Factors associated with mental health help-seeking among Asian Americans: A systematic review. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 9(1), 346–36. Access here.
The Asian American Foundation. (2024). Beyond the surface: Understanding mental health among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander youth. Access here.
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