My number one goal as a relationship therapist is to create the safest, most open, and radically nonjudgmental space possible so that you can freely and unashamedly explore and express the deepest parts of who you are. Having true intimacy with others can only happen when you are able to look at all of the parts of who you are and learn to love and accept yourself in all of your beauty and brokenness. It is nearly impossible to do this without being truly seen and embraced by another, which is why I’d love to create a space for you where this can happen. This is perhaps the most valuable thing I can offer you as a therapist because no matter how much a therapist knows about psychology, if there is shame and fear of rejection, we cannot access vulnerable parts of ourselves and we cannot make true connection with others.

My success with clients over the last decade is rooted in my ability to welcome and celebrate all parts of my clients with curiosity and respect. Growing up as a token minority in the Midwest, raised by immigrant parents from two different cultures, I have learned to embrace difference and human complexity with genuine appreciation. In my personal therapy work, I have struggled through my own journey of understanding the complex nature of identity and relationship to self and others. I have been humbled by facing and working through my own most painful wounds. Through this ongoing work, I am continuously learning how liberating it is to lovingly embrace all the parts of me that make me who I am.

Coming from this place of humility and understanding, I can see you, I can accept you, and I can appreciate you not only for all of your strong and unique qualities, but also for the parts you may hide from others, and even yourself.

I come to my clients real, raw, honest, and equal. Life is messy. But I’m here to be in the mess with you. I am in this work because I genuinely like people, and I find them fascinating. And yes, even though we always have room to grow, I believe that we are ultimately beautiful creatures.

My hope is that through a nurturing therapeutic relationship, you will be able to learn to love and accept all parts of yourself too, because I believe that a strong, healthy relationship with ourselves is the foundation for loving, intimate relationships.

Professional License:

LCSW #87652

Education:

Master’s of Social Work, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign

Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology, Wheaton College

Postgraduate Trainings:

The Psychotherapy Institute

The Healing Shame Institute 

Professional Affiliations:

Asian American Psychological Association

Therapists of Color, Bay Area