Credit: (Photo by: Neha Darji)As demand for mental health services remains high, professionals across the state continue to meet the needs of New Jerseyans from diverse backgrounds, including South and East Asian women and women of color.
5% of the state's population, according to data from Indian American Impact, a national organization that aims to advance “the voices of Indian Americans, South Asians, and all historically excluded communities.” Nearby are South Asians, the highest percentage in the nation. The organization also notes that Indian Americans make up the largest ethnic group among Asian Americans living in the state.
Now, some behavioral health professionals, including Neha Darji, are responding to these needs by providing teletherapy services to South and East Asian women and women of color in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm working on it. Dalji, a licensed professional counselor, founded We Rise Therapy and Wellness in 2019 and currently works with first-generation clients, adult children of immigrants, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Black and Indigenous people. We provide family-specific behavioral health treatment.
The Mount Laurel-based agency currently offers telehealth services through a team of South and East Asian therapists. Darji says the company has grown significantly in the past six months and now serves more than 100 of his customers, ranging from 14 years old to his late 60s.
NJ Spotlight News spoke with Darji about starting her company and what more needs to be done to take care of the physical and mental health of women of color across the state. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
New Jersey Spotlight News: What inspired you to create We Rise Therapy?
Neha Darji: What inspired me to start We Rise Therapy and Wellness was that I had a vision to create a greater impact in some way. Talking about mental health, talking about our emotions, vulnerabilities, struggles, and challenges was modeled for me very early on as something that was not normalized in my culture and community. Growing up as the daughter of second-generation immigrants, I wanted to make my parents proud and overcome hardships.
So, I really saw myself building a career that helps people understand that having feelings, talking about struggles, having challenges, and needing support through them is not a weakness. I had envisioned it. I really wanted to change that path because I felt that the community around me, including my extended family and cousins, was not that model for me.
New Japan SN: When you moved from Chicago to New Jersey in 2017, what did you think about the mental health care provided, especially to South and East Asian women and women of color?
ND: I saw a very large gap. My first job was working from home with my kids. In fact, the agency owner himself was South Asian. We had serious conversations about the challenges of South Asian families, but the referrals we received weren't good enough for South Asian families…something about these communities not seeking services. It was happening. They either didn't know the service existed, weren't looking for it, or couldn't access it in the language or way they needed to get hired. I saw that early on when I moved to New Jersey. It was very different from Chicago. Chicago was a melting pot. I was always surrounded by diversity.Moved to New Jersey…adjusting was difficult as I struggled to understand the community [and] What were the needs of the community?
New Japan SN: Do you think there is a gap between women of color and South Asian and East Asian women, especially when it comes to mental health? What more would you like to see happen in addition to your services and work?
ND: There is a lot to do regarding stigma when it comes to seeking treatment. We see many people having many relationship challenges and seeking couples therapy. And that's a really, really big thing. We are all deeply influenced by others, especially in the South Asian community. What will people think? What will people say? The more vulnerable we are, the more we can help break down stigma, raise awareness of treatments, and how we can support overall health.
New Japan SN: What more would you like to see done at the state level, not just in terms of mental health, but the physical health and overall well-being of not just women of color, but people of color across the state?
ND: When I moved to New Jersey, I saw that there were community programs that conducted health fairs and health screenings that included physical and mental health screenings. Community centers provide this and then [it] Kind of dead. I hope we can establish more centers, whether they are community organizations or new organizations that provide more accessible medical services and testing to individuals.
