I believe the patterns that hold us back usually began as ways to protect ourselves.

Keeping the peace, putting others first, pushing through, or setting our own needs aside often made sense in the families, cultures, and circumstances that shaped us. They were ways of surviving, and often ways of staying connected to the people we loved.

Over time, what once protected us can leave us anxious, depleted, or disconnected, even when life looks fine from the outside. Therapy can be a safe place to understand these patterns with care and without judgment, so you can find more ease, clarity, and freedom through greater self-understanding.

As a 1.5-generation Taiwanese American who lives with high sensitivity, and having spent many years in high-pressure workplaces, I know some of these patterns from the inside. My sensitivity allows me to be deeply attuned to what often goes unspoken, and to meet whatever you bring with steadiness and care. I especially enjoy working with Asian Americans and children of immigrants, creatives and highly sensitive people (HSP), and those in demanding careers who are healing from family and relational wounds, navigating difficult life transitions, or living with the lingering impact of trauma.

My work is holistic and integrative. It' is rooted in psychodynamic and relational therapy, and I draw on Hakomi, a mindful somatic approach, along with IFS-informed parts work. I am completing my final year of the master's program in Integral Counseling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and I see clients at Heart in Balance under the supervision of Jeanette Shelby, LMFT, license #127144.