Enduring, Submitting, Surviving: Rui Cang on Trauma, Identity & Healing in Asian Communities

In this rich and deeply personal episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher: Wisdom Between Colleagues—Insights for Us All, Dr. Janina Fisher is joined by Rui Cang, LMFT, a Los Angeles–based psychotherapist, TIST facilitator, and Sensory Motor Psychotherapy practitioner whose clinical expertise is grounded in her own lived experience as a Chinese-born immigrant and bicultural therapist.
Together, they explore the complex and often unspoken challenges faced by Asian and Asian American clients—from navigating intergenerational trauma and collectivist family systems to reclaiming language for emotion, boundaries, and the self in a culture where those concepts have long been taboo.
Through stories from her practice and her own journey, Rui illuminates:
The role of shame and compliance in collectivist cultures—and how they can inhibit healing


Why the concept of “boundary” may feel foreign or even threatening to many Asian clients


How helicopter parenting, fear-based caregiving, and emotional withholding create patterns of anxiety and indecisiveness across generations


The cultural value of endurance (zhen)—and how it both protects and harms


The profound attachment trauma that can arise even in multi-generational, tightly bonded families


How enduring racism, war, and displacement have shaped bodies and nervous systems across Asian diasporas


The emotional toll of code-switching, assimilation, and survival-driven identity loss in Western contexts


How language itself can limit emotional expression—and how somatic and parts-based therapy helps bridge the gap


Janina and Rui reflect on what it means to offer culturally responsive trauma therapy that honors the beauty and pain of collectivist traditions. They discuss the paradox of Asian family systems that are close-knit and supportive—yet often silence individuality, emotional vulnerability, and self-expression. Rui shares how many of her clients, especially first- and second-generation immigrants, are caught between two worlds: Western individualism and Eastern collectivism—and how therapy can help them reclaim a self that belongs to both.
Throughout the conversation, Rui’s compassion and insight shine. She speaks candidly about:
Growing up in Beijing in the absence of emotional vocabulary


Training in psychology in China before such programs truly existed


The challenges of doing Mandarin-language therapy with clients whose native culture lacks words like “empathy,” “self-worth,” or “boundary”


Her clinical use of parts language (TIST) to help clients honor their loyal parts, submit parts, and protective parts without shame


This episode is not only a profound exploration of Asian cultural dynamics in therapy—it’s also a masterclass in attunement, humility, and the courage to question inherited beliefs.
Whether you’re a clinician working with Asian clients, an immigrant navigating dual identities, or simply someone interested in how culture shapes our inner world, this conversation offers nuance, validation, and a path toward integration.
“Our clients aren’t being resistant,” Rui reminds us. “They’re carrying centuries of survival strategy—and they’re doing the best they can.
Show Notes:
https://www.thewholisticconnection.com/

Rui is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a deep passion for supporting individuals and families in healing from trauma. She specializes in PTSD, Complex PTSD, dissociative disorders, and attachment-related challenges, and is certified in both Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment, and has advanced training in Attachment-Focused EMDR and Relational Life Therapy for couples.
As someone born and raised in Beijing, Rui brings both Eastern and Western perspectives to her work. She is especially dedicated to supporting Asian and Asian American clients, helping them navigate cultural identity, intergenerational trauma, and the unique challenges that can come with bridging cultures.
Rui’s approach is warm, relational, and holistic—integrating mind, body, and spirit. She believes that healing happens through connection, compassion, and the discovery of inner resilience.