East Meets West Social Worker - When an Asian American mom integrates her Eastern cultural background with Western education and experience, only the best philosophies, spirituality, and social work can help to make sense of her life, marriage, and parenting.

Moms: God Is the Lifter of Your Head

May 17, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

Thou, Oh Lord, are a shield about me. You’re my glory, and the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). Parenting, especially mothering, is full of challenges. Moms of future grown-ups–do you ever go through life wondering if you are good enough? If you are cut out for the long haul that mothering entails? If you would amount to anything worthy of mention? Do you find yourself hiding your sins and shame? Do you secretly compete with the beautiful, got it… Read more

Decoding Social Justice Warrior Language

May 11, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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**This blog was originally titled Social Justice Warrior Language: Translated for White People, but was scratched and replaced to be more reader friendly.** Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) have been speaking up more and more. Or maybe it’s just me becoming more woke (socially and politically aware) through increased interest in the subject and avid reading. This blog will focus on racial justice/reconciliation. I’m Asian American (classified as AAPI, or Asian American Pacific Islander). Therefore, I’m a Person of Color (POC), which… Read more

7 Good Reasons People Are Reducing Online Interactions

May 1, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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There is no doubt that internet and smartphone technology have many benefits for society. A certain population of Americans are not mobile and enjoy getting involved, informed, and connected online. However, people are unplugging from or reducing online interactions for good reasons. If you are a small business owner or organization leader, you might not understand why folks are dis-engaging from online interactions. They are posting and sharing less. Some have deleted intrusive apps or deactivated their Facebook accounts. From… Read more

Starbucks Racial Profiling Incident: 7 Tips To Respond to Racial Controversies

April 18, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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The last few days, I’ve been reading and hearing about two young, black men getting kicked out of a Starbucks in Philadelphia (see here and here). Apparently, a white, female store manager called the police because the two were sitting there and appeared to be not paying customers. The cops allegedly asked them to leave but after 12 minutes of them refusing to leave the store, arrested them overnight. Reportedly, the young men were waiting for a friend and were not… Read more

Christian Feminism: The Southern Christian Mom

April 11, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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Have you ever wondered what an average day in the life of an American mom entails? Do you imagine what these Christians in the Bible Belt are really like? I’m a bit of a sociologist by hobby and social worker and clinician by profession, so I get to associate with and study a fairly large slice of the spectrum of Southerners. And having been a mom since fifteen years ago, I’ve been around a lot of mothers going through various… Read more

A Different Kind Of Intersectional Jesus: Christian feminism from an immigrant’s perspective

April 3, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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Christians who climb on the progressive bandwagon often talk about a Jesus that is “intersectional” — one who confronts and overturns the systems and power structures that promote poverty and marginalization of certain groups of people—mainly women, children, the poor, outcast, the foreigner among us, etc… The more of these factors you have, the exponential your suffering, or so the progressive thinking goes. Armed with this socio-political framework, many social workers advocate for the empowerment of marginalized people groups, and… Read more

Good Friday or Bad Friday, You Decide

March 28, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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Millions of Christians across the world will be celebrating this weekend starting on the somber holiday of Good Friday in various ways including fasting and church services. But why is it called good when it is about the death of Jesus, our Lord and Savior? In fact, I just learned that in Germany, Good Friday is also called Sorrowful Friday. And how appropriate since this day is commemorated as the day that Jesus, the unblemished lamb of God, died from… Read more

Learning Politics From My Refugee Parents: A Lesson into World History

March 20, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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My parents came to visit me, my husband, and the grandkids for Spring Break and provided interesting lessons in world history as I quizzed them about their past. It started innocently when I was taking them to visit a relative my parents informed me that I had. The relative’s home was located in a Chinese Vietnamese part of Houston. We were driving on Bellaire Blvd when we crossed a street whose name my dad immediately recognized. At the intersection of… Read more

When Christians Get in the Way Of Christ

March 6, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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Church unity or “unity in diversity” is a lofty goal. Most American Christians I know, including myself, mean well. We are trying to be followers of Christ, disciples of Christ, the body of believers. If you get to know each Christian individually, you would be able to relate. Catch a believer in his/her solitude, converse with anonymity, and you would find him/her quite lovable, even adorable. Connections and understanding are sweet like honey, refreshing like water. The problems seem to… Read more

The Black Panther Review: A Social Worker’s Dream Case Study

February 28, 2018 By Kim Parker, LCSW

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You might have already read many reviews of the latest movie sensation, the Black Panther. But have you read one from a social worker’s analytical perspective? Neither black nor white, but holistic and systemic? There’s nothing typical about Ryan Coogler’s Marvel blockbuster movie. For one, it’s a predominantly Black cast full of good looking, powerful people with superpowers. It also has strong political messages but manages to please Americans of various political persuasions. I know conservatives and progressives of various… Read more