Therapy for Immigrant & First-Generation Clients in NYC
Attachment-Based, Culturally Attuned Individual & Couples Therapy at Our Kind Therapy
Growing up between cultures often means learning how to adapt early. Many immigrant and first-generation clients learned when to prioritize family over self, when to stay quiet, when to carry responsibility, and when to succeed without asking for much back.
Over time, this can create an internal split. Loyalty and independence. Gratitude and resentment. Belonging and individuality. You may function well externally while feeling emotionally divided inside.
At Our Kind Therapy, we offer therapy for immigrant and first-generation clients in NYC that understands this tension as a natural response to living within multiple value systems at once, not as confusion or dysfunction. We work with individuals and couples across New York City, including Manhattan and Brooklyn, both in person and virtually.
What Immigrant and First-Generation Stress Often Looks Like
Cultural impact rarely arrives labeled as culture. It more often shows up as:
Persistent guilt when setting boundaries
Pressure to succeed on behalf of the family
Difficulty prioritizing personal needs
Love mixed with resentment
Feeling misunderstood in close relationships
Ongoing tension between autonomy and obligation
Many clients describe feeling as though they are constantly negotiating between generations, expectations, and versions of themselves.
Collectivism and Individualism Inside the Same Person
Many Western therapy models prioritize autonomy, independence, and self-expression. Many immigrant and first-generation families prioritize interdependence, sacrifice, duty, and shared identity.
When these systems collide, clients are often told they must choose between culture and self.
We do not believe that.
Our work focuses on helping clients hold:
Personal truth and cultural values
Autonomy and loyalty
Growth and roots
This requires nuance and pacing. It cannot be rushed or reduced to advice.
Why Cultural Attunement in Therapy Matters
When therapy lacks cultural understanding, harm can occur. Immigrant and first-generation clients are often:
Encouraged to distance themselves from family prematurely
Labeled as enmeshed for caring deeply
Pushed toward boundaries that feel unsafe or culturally disrespectful
Misunderstood in their experience of obligation or loyalty
At Our Kind Therapy, cultural attunement is foundational. Many of our therapists are immigrants or first-generation themselves, or have extensive clinical experience working across cultures and family systems. You should not have to explain your culture while trying to heal.
Individual Therapy for Immigrant & First-Generation Clients
In individual therapy, we often focus on:
Untangling internalized family expectations
Reducing guilt around self-prioritization
Strengthening identity and self-trust
Making space for anger, grief, and resentment
Integrating multiple cultural identities into a coherent sense of self
This work is not about rejecting family or culture. It is about ending the constant internal conflict between who you are and who you are expected to be.
Couples Therapy Across Cultures and Generations
Cultural dynamics often shape couples’ relationships in quiet but powerful ways, including:
Family involvement and boundary differences
Interfaith or intercultural partnerships
Gender roles shaped by tradition
Loyalty conflicts after marriage or partnership
We do not frame one partner as too traditional or the other as too modern. We work with the relational system between you, helping couples build shared values that honor both culture and partnership.
How This Work Begins to Shift
Before clients describe feeling resolved, we often see:
Less guilt when making self-respecting choices
Clearer communication with family and partners
Reduced emotional reactivity around cultural triggers
Greater compassion for parents without self-erasure
A growing sense of internal alignment
Healing often begins when you no longer feel forced to betray one part of yourself to protect another.
Our Clinical Approach
Our work is relational, experiential, and culturally attuned. Modalities that often support this work include:
Attachment-based therapy to address loyalty, safety, and belonging
AEDP to process emotion within containment
Narrative therapy to explore inherited stories and expectations
Somatic work to release cultural pressure held in the body
We do not impose values. We help you clarify your own within your cultural context.
Therapy for Immigrant & First-Generation Clients in New York City
Being an immigrant or a first-generation does not mean something is wrong with you. It means you learned to carry a great deal, often quietly.
Therapy helps you put that weight down without losing who you are.
If you are seeking therapy for immigrant or first-generation experiences in NYC and want culturally attuned, attachment-based support, we are here.
