Therapy can be a space where you get to truly be yourself, not the persona you present to the world. It can be a place where you don’t have to perform. You don’t have to figure out what everyone else wants. You just get to be you—and start working through the obstacles that prevent you from feeling fulfilled and satisfied.

Therapy is an investment in yourself and in your future but it can feel intimidating to start and it’s completely normal to feel unsure about it. But you’ve tried handling your struggles on your own for awhile and these issues keep weighing on your mind and your thoughts keep spiraling. If you feel overwhelmed, anxious, depressed or lost in life, therapy can be a great way to get support as you move through a difficult time. Sometimes it takes another person and a dedicated time and space to help untangle some of these issues. Clients say they start to feel more clarity and lighter after being in therapy with me.

Areas of Specialization:

• General anxiety, panic attacks and stress

• Feeling depressed, lonely or lost

• People-pleasing and codependency

• Exploring identity and self (quarter-life, mid-life crisis, racial/ethnic)

• 1st, 1.5 and 2nd generation Asians and Asian-Americans

• Anxiety in relationships 

• Complex/childhood trauma

• Singlehood and dating

• Life transitions such as changing careers, moving, divorce or break-up

• Adult children of immigrant parents

• Navigating difficult family dynamics

• Difficulty creating or maintaining intimate relationships

• Building self-esteem and confidence

• Social anxiety and shyness

• Improving conflict and communication skills

• Disordered eating

• Grief and loss

You don’t like to complain because your life looks pretty good from the outside, but internally, you don’t feel that happy or satisfied with your life. You tell yourself you should be able to handle your problems on your own and that other people have it worse. But anxiety keeps you up at night, ruminating about possible things that could go wrong in the future or replaying conversations or events in your mind that you wished you could do over.

Maybe you try to constantly please others, feeling guilty if you say no to requests and invitations, and sometimes feeling resentful if you say yes. You hold yourself to very high standards—such as always needing to be a great friend or star employee and then judge yourself harshly when you feel like you’re falling short.

Maybe you’ve had another argument with your partner or your parents, but this time it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. You’re tired of the repetitive fights and you want to figure out how to have a better relationship with them.

You may be facing existential questions such as what you should do with your life. You’re struggling to find your purpose and what you’re passionate about and have hit a quarter or mid-life crisis.  

You may have found that perfect job after college, the one that makes your parents proud, but it’s not as fulfilling as you imagined and you wonder, is this it?

You’re curious about patterns that you’ve been stuck in and haven’t made progress on such as picking unavailable partners or getting anxious and insecure in relationships. You want to find a long-term relationship but you’re struggling with dating and feel like you’re falling behind your peers.  

Or you may have found that person you thought was the one but now you’re facing issues in your relationship that you don’t know how to address. You could be going through a break-up or divorce and it feels like the rug has been pulled out from under you. You need a place to process the thoughts and feelings that are coming up around the separation.   

These are some of the issues that I’ve helped clients work through. Can you relate?

How can therapy help?

When you’re dealing with several stressors at once, it can overwhelm your normal capacity to cope. Having another person there to process situations with you can help lighten the weight. Having the time each week to process your thoughts, feelings and experiences with another person gives you a fresh perspective. It can help you realize things you may not have known and thus open new paths for you to take. With the information that we discover together, we would explore how you could change old patterns and find new ways of relating to yourself, to others and to life. 

How do I start therapy?

I recognize the courage it takes to reach out for support. It's important to find a therapist who is a compassionate and skilled guide on this path. I’m a licensed San Francisco therapist with more than a decade of experience who provides therapy to individuals and couples who are tired of feeling stuck and ready to try something new. Therapy can be an opportunity to not only alleviate your symptoms but also to discover more about yourself in order to create lasting and meaningful change. Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to see how I can help!