Duality of Cultures
The duality of cultures refers to the internal conflict experienced when a person must navigate two distinct cultural identities. For South Asian Canadian families, counselling can help bridge the gap between traditional values and Canadian life.
In this article
What Is the Duality of Cultures?
The duality of cultures refers to the internal conflict experienced when a person must navigate two distinct cultural identities—often the traditional values of their parents’ homeland and the mainstream values of the society they now live in. For first‑generation South Asian Canadian families, this duality is a daily reality. As a South Asian Canadian woman and a counsellor, I have both experienced and seen in my practice the challenges that South Asian immigrant parents and Canadian‑born youth face. There is a constant struggle, due to this duality of cultures.
How It Affects Parents and Youth
Parents who have immigrated to Canada came with dreams, hopes, and aspirations for a promising future for themselves and their children. They have had their own settlement issues and difficulty acculturating. In addition, parents have a desire to keep cultural traditions alive and want their children to be able to follow those same traditions. However, adolescents tend to struggle between cultural traditions and Canadian values.
Youth experience social life, education, and culture much differently in Canada, as compared to their parents back home. Having an open discussion at home can be a struggle in areas such as dating, drugs, alcohol, as well as safety on social media. Whether it’s an inability for parents to understand their teenagers or poor communication between the adolescent and their parent, minors are impacted on several levels. This can result in low self‑esteem and poor mental health, including suicide ideation.
How Counselling Can Help
Through counselling, risk‑assessments, and goal setting, our youth can be provided with a safe space to openly share concerns while being supported. At Bayridge Counselling Centres, our regulated mental health professionals—including Registered Psychotherapists (RP), Registered Social Workers (RSW), and Psychologists (C.Psych)—work with adolescents and families across Ontario to address these cultural tensions and build healthier communication patterns.
For more information about therapeutic and counselling services for your youth, contact Bayridge Counselling Centre now at 905‑319‑1488. You can
