Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Dr. Anjali Ferguson’s parents moved the family back to India when she was eight. Two years later, they returned to Virginia and the cultural differences in everyday life struck the young girl.

“American culture is very individualistic and independent,” Ferguson says. “South Asian and some European cultures are collectivist, putting the family’s needs ahead of individual family members’ needs. The conflicting demands of integrating both cultures take a toll that causes many second-generation immigrant children to have mental health problems.”

That passion for and commitment to children’s mental health determined
Ferguson’s career path as a culturally responsive psychologist. Marrying
a Black man and having a child helped focus her work through the
lens of social justice.

Because there are very real differences in the lives of minority and
marginalized families that can affect parenting, her goal is to provide
tools so families can have the needed conversations. “My husband and I
released a children’s book called ‘An Ordinary Day’ to teach about microaggressions in a nuanced way to young children,” she says. “We want to
get people to talk about these things as a way to shift their thinking and be
more inclusive in their daily lives.”

In 2021, she launched Parenting Culture (parentingculture.org), a free,
research-informed, inclusive parenting resource intended to support parents,
educators, and practitioners. Curated by a team of early career psychologists
of color with professional expertise in children’s mental health and lived experiences as parents, the site includes a podcast series. “Our resources offer a more inclusive lens into parenting,” she says. “We want all families to feel represented and understand that there’s no one-sizefits-all approach to raising children.”

Making resources available so that conversations about race, gender, reproductive rights and gender identity become more mainstream is Ferguson’s goal. Parents raised to avoid uncomfortable discussions need to
understand that making conversations about important issues an everyday,
matter-of-fact occurrence will help protect the mental health of the
next generation.

“Young children want language to discuss what they notice, but we keep
them from having it because we as adults aren’t comfortable discussing
these things,” she says. “Talking is preventative, safe and protective in the
long term.”