Asians Do Therapy

Valerie Yeo, PsyD. Religious Trauma and the Asian American Experience

Yin J. Li, LMFT Season 1 Episode 9

In this conversation, I speak with Dr. Valerie Yeo (she/her), a psychologist who specializes in religious and racial trauma based in Portland, Oregon.

Our discussion is within the context of the Evangelical church. Some of what we discussed:

  • Adverse religious experience and religious trauma. How are they different?
  • When folks are deconstructing their faith, what might they be experiencing?
  • The intersections of Christianity, white supremacy and the Asian American experience
  • What resources are available for folks who in the process of deconstructing


Whether you are someone in the process of deconstruction or have friends or family going through it or whether you are a therapist working with someone who is deconstructing, I hope you find this episode helpful.

Dr. Valerie Yeo (she/her) identifies as Singaporean-Chinese-American, and is a licensed psychologist in Portland, OR. She has a private practice in which she values holding space for BIPOC individuals, with emphasis on those in the Asian-American community who have experienced racial and religious trauma. Her role as a psychologist includes providing individual therapy and immigration-based assessments, as well as teaching, supervising, and mentoring future mental health providers. Dr. Yeo believes strongly in honoring our full selves—emotional, somatic, mental, spiritual, and social, within our present and historical contexts.

She will be offering Moving Through Religious Trauma, a workshop for Asian-Americans starting in April 2022. To connect with Valerie, follow her at
@asianexvangelical and https://valerieyeopsyd.com/

Additional resources:


Liberated Together

Your Favorite Heretics

 Ex-vangelical Podcast

Religion Dispatches

Reclaiming My Theology Podcast

Progressive Asian American Christians (PAAC)

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