“The Chinese in general have been more collective” Xu Justin
How did Europeans of Chinese origin react at the start of the pandemic? Differently from other populations? A young clinical psychologist who studied at the University of Leuven in Belgium tells us about his experience, but also about the differences (or not) between the European mentality and that of the Chinese back home.
A brilliant meeting with Justin Xu, clinical psychologist in Brussels
LHCH How did Europeans of Chinese origin react to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brussels?
Justin Xu I don’t just treat Chinese people. I can therefore compare the various reactions of my patient population, which also includes Belgians and other European nationalities. The Chinese bought masks more quickly, for example. They also felt more fear following the many deaths in China, perhaps even in their families. But studies by Doctor Vincent Laurent of the Catholic University of Louvain have confirmed that it is teens and women who have been most affected by COVID after 5 days of lockdown. For these cases, in my office, I felt the same reactions from the Chinese and the Europeans.
LHCH Isn’t there a different mentality in obedience when it comes to wearing a mask? Europeans sometimes brandishing their sacrosanct and selfish “freedom” not to wear them.
Justin Xu In China, we had already had SARS. Also, when someone has a simple flu or cold in the winter, they put on the mask to protect others. There is also the pollution of big cities. But it is also true that the Chinese have traditionally been and are more « collective”.
LHCH To treat a Chinese or a European, do you use the same approaches?
Justin Xu For both, COVID can be an amplification of anxieties related to past events. The reaction was panic and unreasonable observing very strict rules. Obsessive neurosis can also be expressed this way! Now my techniques (behavioral, language, etc.) during a session are different. For example, with Europeans, I will start with breathing exercises because they are often overwhelmed, stressed, pushing back a lot. I also throw in a little-known classical piece of music and ask them to tell a story so that they can indirectly express themselves despite their blockages. The Chinese are generally more in control of their emotions. But the problem is on the side of a “taboo” going to the psychologist. When they take the step, then their emotions pour out very quickly.
LHCH Breathing Exercises: Could There Be Bridges Between Western Psychology and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
Justin Xu The idea of balance between Yin-Yang and the 5 elements of MCT can translate into the need for balance or “homeostasis” in psychology. For example, a harmony between conscious, unconscious and superego is a guarantee of mental health. Another common point, this balance, we never achieve it in a perfect way. It is a continuous movement of approaching or moving away towards a limit. A process.
LHCH And in China, what theories are psychology curricula based on?
Justin Xu I arrived in Belgium in 1999, so I did all my higher education here, in Dutch, at the University of Leuven. Even though I am Chinese, I put into practice the theories of Freud, Lacan, systems psychology and behavioral psychology. So I am not very familiar with the program of universities in China today. No doubt, these universities try to link Western psychology with traditional Chinese thought of Taoism, Confucianism or even Buddhism?
LHCH For example, Freud wrote his theories based on his experience of the Austrian bourgeois family structure in Vienna. Do you think the structure of the Chinese family is the same as treating for a shrink?
Justin Xu Deep question. I do a lot of family therapy with Chinese people. These families have a heterogeneous cultural background. Often the parents were educated in China, lived there their youth. Their children, on the other hand, were born in Europe. There are therefore intergenerational conflicts directly linked to the culture of origin. The differences are huge. A Chinese mother told me that she bought the most expensive clothes, the best smartphone, the best material things for her 19-year-old son. But then she complained, “He’s not close to me. He always wants to go out, see his friends… ”. An eldest son fleeing the responsibilities he should have in China, then. But the son replies: “When I was little you worked all the time, without paying attention to me! And now that I’m starting college, should I follow your strict rules? “. Traditional parents pretend not to understand their children’s reactions. They guess very well. But they think their children should listen to them all the same and make an effort. Family break.
LHCH And in China, aren’t there these intergenerational issues?
Justin XU Much less because the weight of traditions and social control are more present. An older son feels the societal pressure all around him. Here I really have to build bridges between generations!
LHCH We sometimes talk about how difficult it is for Asians to express their emotions. Here too ?
Justin XU Yes because the Chinese community in Brussels is small. The noises go fast. There is a modesty, a fear of revealing oneself. I then become an important confidant. But here or there, for example, Chinese men are being educated to become “real men”. You don’t cry in front of your parents, for example. Of course, this creates repressions, taboos. The expression of emotions is then done in an inadequate way.
Most importantly, it is a relationship of trust between family members. Parents, on the other hand, need to develop a sense of security for their children here, not just material comfort.
LHCH Is social control that severe in China?
Justin XU This is a complex question about the harmony of society. In China, there are sometimes surface marriages. A gay couple will come to an agreement with a lesbian couple to create two “straight” couples who will be able to officially marry … But the men of the two couples and the women of these two couples will each be able to see each other, without infidelity and carefree, in their homosexual relationship. What pressure for an eldest son, for example too, when during the Spring Festival, he has to bring a young woman back to the family meal!
At this level, the Chinese in Europe have fewer problems. Even if the family likes to see its heritage faithfully transmitted by the eldest son and his children.
LHCH Are there identity issues for European Chinese? To feel first Chinese then European or vice versa? Both ?
Justin Xu: I’ve been here for 21 years. I feel Belgian with a Chinese cultural background. I like the “flat country” because, like in China, we are looking for a “compromise”. We cultivate a balance between different heterogeneous things such as governments of several political colors, for example. More culturally, a Belgian will rarely say in front of someone that he does not agree. Fleeing the conflict, he will say: “Uh, I don’t know”! That’s saying politely no, actually. Very Chinese (laughs).
LHCH What about your Chinese patients?
Justin XU We talked about generational issues. On top of these comes the question of identity, indeed. The two are linked. Unless we feel like a “citizen of the world”, we ask ourselves the question of our membership and our loyalty to them. We are trees. We need roots for our solidity, our balance.
LHCH We Europeans have identity issues now too. Within our own culture but also, wedged, between the influence of the US and the possible prospects with China. Why can’t we and the Chinese dream of a stronger unity within the Eurasian continent? From Antwerp to Shanghai, one continent!
Justin Xu A Eurasian identity? To think about it, but the term Eurasia has unfortunately been misused by an infrequent Russian political party. I prefer to talk about the Silk Road, the Old and the New.
