Beyond Survival: Collective Healing in Lao Communities
By Tina Phousouvanh Hanson, LMFT
Silent Burdens: Unseen Strength
For five decades, beginning with the arrival of the first Lao refugees in 1975, our families have embodied perseverance and dedication to rebuilding life in a new country. All the while, they carried the invisible weight of forced migration, loss, and generational trauma. In many homes a quiet heaviness lingered, where grief was unspoken but deeply felt. Without the language, safety, or support to process what they had endured, many of our parents carried immense trauma in silence.
The echoes of unprocessed grief and silence created ripple effects in our families and continue to move through us, shaping our emotions, relationships, and sense of self in ways we may not always recognize. Time alone cannot heal the deep and complex wounds we carry; intentional support and nurturing approaches are essential.
Invitation to Healing: From Survival to Wholeness
Healing invites us to honor what was lost, mend what's fractured within us and expand our capacity to love ourselves and our community. True healing requires more than strength and perseverance. It is an integrative process of reflection and action calling upon us to:
explore our stories
embrace vulnerability
process our experiences
tend to our minds and bodies
foster a sense of trust and belonging within ourselves and our communities
To begin, we must look at what has been passed down through our family histories, cultural legacies, and formative experiences.
Photo courtesy of Tina Hanson. Tina shares “A photo from the 50-Year Celebration of Lao Heritage and Resilience captures the beauty of generations coming together in community and healing. It was a deeply meaningful moment to experience alongside my daughters.”
Intergenerational Trauma: The Stories Beneath the Silence
We, the 1.5 and second-generation Lao know how deeply resilience and adversity are intertwined. We carried our parents' pain alongside our own, bearing the burden of what could not be released. From an early age, we learned to navigate life without words for what we felt. Childhood often carried the subtle ache of longing for safety and connection that went unacknowledged.
This trauma experienced did not disappear in silence. It often surfaced in our homes through suppressed feelings or conflict and aggression between family members. At the same time, these patterns were compounded by broader systemic forces, including structural inequities, restrictive policies, and social marginalization that limited safety, stability, and opportunity. Together, these personal and societal experiences left lasting imprints on our bodies, minds, and relationships, including:
Restless or interrupted sleep
Muscle tension, tight shoulders, back aches, fatigue
Digestive issues such as IBS
Overwhelming thoughts of the past
A nervous system that is always on alert, persistent stress or feeling constantly on edge
Difficulty controlling emotions including anger, frustration, or sadness
Low self-worth or shame
A sense of feeling disconnected from your body or emotions (dissociation)
A mind desensitized to violence
These are the marks of complex trauma (CPTSD), lived not only in distant memory but in the body itself. To cope with the trauma experienced early in life, some of us may have turned to strategies such as self-reliance, emotional withdrawal, or even substance use. These responses were not failures but the ways our bodies and minds learned to protect us from pain. Over time, they became the remnants of unhealed wounds and traces of survival that quietly shaped our lives.
Each of us developed our own ways of surviving the marks that trauma left behind. Yet, what once protected us, can limit our capacity for joy, closeness, and renewal. Recognizing how we coped individually and how historical and systemic factors impact our communities is a crucial step toward allowing us to be gentle with ourselves when tending to our own wounds.
From Silence to Connection: Pathways Toward Healing
Healing requires both honoring the past and taking deliberate steps in the present. Many of us were taught, either directly or through unspoken messages that our emotional struggles and vulnerabilities should be hidden. Yet, healing requires us to honor how pain impacts both mind and body. Healing in our community can take many forms and cannot happen in isolation. We deserve care that understands our unique history and resilience woven through our stories. Healing also requires awareness of the environments we live in and how broader systems shape the opportunities and support we can access.
Healing can involve:
blending cognitive and body-based therapy with cultural rituals
seeking out spaces where our voices and stories are not only welcomed but honored
connecting through shared traditions
Each act that interrupts these patterns becomes a compassionate step forward. Healing often begins with small, intentional steps that over time create a lasting impact. This can mean:
teaching our nervous systems that safety is possible
seeking supportive relationships and environments
allowing space for rest, gratitude, and the deeply powerful joy of simply being
Through caring for our bodies, regulating our nervous systems, fostering relational closeness, and drawing on community wisdom, we begin to transform cycles of pain into anchors of lasting strength, compassion, and hope. As we begin to understand our past, we open the door to collective healing.
Nurturing Mind, Body, & Community
Rest & digest practices:
Breathing and grounding: Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique, 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, or mindfulness meditation
Body-based self-soothing: Humming, gentle stretching, sacral rocking, progressive muscle relaxation or butterfly hugs can help release tension and rework safety into our nervous system and bodies.
Cultural movement: To fon Lumvong is done with slow rhythmic steps and circular hand motions and can be a way to regulate the nervous system while also reconnecting with cultural roots. Let our bodies learn safety through movement.
Nourishing your body:
Eating protein, healthy fats and fiber rich foods supports mental health.
Connect with Lao heritage by preparing family recipes or discovering new ones online. Papaya is rich in vitamin C, folate, and fiber, nutrients that support both mood and gut health. Enjoy thum mak hoong (papaya salad) making sure to savor the vibrant flavors that connect us to Laos!
Rhythm & Rest:
Balance your circadian rhythm by prioritizing consistent sleep and wake times, seek natural sunlight and reduce screens at night.
Embrace rest: Reclaim the rest our parents couldn't afford while living in survival mode. Restore energy and balance by seeking out the type of rest your mind and body truly needs.
Creating Joy and Belonging:
Nurture relationships built on mutual care and respect.
Consider participating in Baci/Sou Khuan ceremonies or attending temple to remind us we are never alone and a part of a community.
Pay attention to what lifts your spirit and weave gratitude and appreciation into the small, ordinary moments of daily life.
Seek out new positive experiences that help rewire the brain for resilience.
Consider celebrating Lao holidays such as Pi Mai which creates opportunities for collective healing, pride, and intergenerational connection.
Therapy
Seek a culturally attuned trauma therapist who feels like a good fit for you.
Consider a therapist who integrates both body-based (somatic) and talk therapy methods for compassionate, effective support with emotional healing and relationships.
Shaping Our Future: Thriving Together
Healing from trauma is both a personal and collective journey, unfolding through our bodies, emotions, and traditions that ground us. Every act of care whether a shared story, a ritual of remembrance, therapy, movement, rest, or cultural practices disrupts cycles of intergenerational trauma and reminds us that we deserve more than survival.
By uplifting our stories, challenging systemic injustices, and nurturing our mental health, we honor our ancestors and lay the foundation for a future rooted in connection, hope, and resilience. Together, our dedication to healing can transform our lives and the collective legacy of our communities for generations to come.
Reflection
Reflect on the healing practices that resonate with you.
Where in your life can you begin to allow yourself to be more vulnerable and trust that doing so can open pathways to connection, healing, and belonging?
What stories of resilience and healing do you want to pass on to the next generation?
How can you carry your grief forward into strength and belonging?
What rituals, meals, or stories will you choose to pass down to the next generation?
How can moments of rest, connection, and cultural practice become anchors in your life?
Reflections from Tina Phousouvanh Hanson, LMFT:
As a second-generation Lao-Thai Isan American, within me are the stories of perseverance, strength, and the marks of trauma that live in my own family and community. My own experiences have shown me how deeply these histories shape the ways we relate to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us.
As a clinical therapist, I’ve witnessed the lingering effect of trauma in relationships, in our sense of safety, and in the everyday ways we cope with pain. I’ve also seen the remarkable power of connection and healing through relationships, cultural practices, and intentional care that can help people reclaim joy, strength, and a sense of wholeness.
I wrote this blog to center the Lao community, whose voices and experiences are often underrepresented. I believe the themes of survival, resilience and healing practices shared here can resonate with anyone who has carried the weight of trauma or loss. While this piece honors Lao identities and histories, it also invites connection, learning and collective healing across Southeast Asian communities and beyond.
Tina Phousouvanh Hanson is the founder of Beyond Solutions Counseling, a virtual mental health practice in Seattle. As a second-generation Lao-Thai Isan American, she centers culturally attuned approaches to support clients in healing from trauma, strengthening resilience, and fostering connection and belonging.