How I Work

My approach integrates deeper understanding and practical change. In therapy, we’ll explore how your past experiences have led to the patterns you find yourself in today – while also building concrete tools backed by science to help you navigate your thoughts and emotions in the present. 

I’ve been extensively trained in psychodynamic therapy, DBT, CBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based approaches. My style is flexible and collaborative, meaning that I’ll tailor our work to your needs, and always explain the “why” behind what we do.

My hope is that therapy becomes a place where insight and action come together–where meeting yourself more deeply helps you live more freely. 

Therapeutic Approaches

If you’re curious about the approaches I use, please feel free to explore below. There is more overlap among them than people often expect, and we can figure out which one or combination best fits your goals.

  • Psychodynamic therapy is focused on understanding the deeper roots of your tendencies—how your past experiences and attachment patterns with families, partners, friends, and communities might shape how you relate to yourself and others today. It helps us to look beyond symptoms and ask: why was I so triggered by this? What does this mean? What purpose has it served?

    This kind of work helps us see you as a whole person, not just a set of problems or symptoms. As you better understand where these patterns come from, there is more room to choose how you want to live in the present.

  • While psychodynamic therapy helps us understand patterns, DBT offers present-focused tools for changing them. DBT offers practical skills for regulating emotions, getting through difficult moments without making things worse, communicating more effectively, and moving away from all-or-nothing patterns. DBT also includes mindfulness skills, which help us to be more grounded in the present when our minds are pulled toward the past or future.

    DBT was originally developed for chronic emotion dysregulation and Borderline Personality Disorder, but it is now used more broadly for people who struggle with strong emotions, impulsive behaviors, relationship conflict, and difficulty managing stress. It can also be helpful for people who seem high-functioning on the outside but feel overwhelmed internally.

    I completed my postdoctoral fellowship in comprehensive DBT, a structured treatment with components including individual therapy, skills group, between-session phone coaching, and a consultation team. I also have experience with DBT for teens at Mount Sinai Morningside, and for incarcerated men with serious mental illness on Rikers Island. In my private practice, I integrate DBT skills in a way that is individualized to each client.

  • The basic idea behind CBT is that our brains are storytellers, not truth-tellers. CBT helps us to notice the stories our minds tell us, especially the ones that keep us stuck, self-critical, or anxious. We work on questioning whether these thoughts are actually true and practicing new ways of responding to them, so they have less power over our emotions and actions.

    CBT is not about gaslighting yourself to “be positive” - rather, it’s about learning to notice what your mind tends to do, and to make choices that are less dictated by fear, shame, and self-criticism.

    CBT has been shown to be effective for a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and obsessive-compulsive patterns. I have experience with CBT across hospital and community settings, including specialized training in evidence-based treatments such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma.

  • Rather than constantly trying to fight our thoughts, ACT helps us build a different relationship with them. We learn to notice what comes up in our minds without being pulled into every thought or emotion, and to take actions that align with what matters most to us. This is based on the idea that the less time and energy we spend wrestling with our minds, the more we have for living.

  • Mindfulness gets thrown around a lot and can feel abstract or woo-woo. But at its core, I think of it as just slowing down and paying attention to what’s happening within you and around you without immediately reacting on autopilot.

    Mindfulness is not just meditation; it is baked into all the therapies above. Mindful awareness helps us catch our unhelpful thoughts (CBT), use skills (DBT), connect with our values (ACT), and understand our patterns (psychodynamic).

    My use of mindfulness in therapy is informed by my clinical training, personal mindfulness practice, and contemplative traditions, while staying practical and relevant to your daily life.

The Therapy Relationship

My clinical experience and research have taught me that meaningful change happens through the therapy relationship itself.

In our relationship, familiar patterns may show up in real time: the urge to please, withdraw, or apologize. These responses are not bad; they are useful information. We can notice them, get curious about them, and practice responding differently to see what happens.

I try to create a relationship that feels both safe and honest: a space where you are accepted as you are, while also being supported and gently challenged. I bring my human self into the room too: imperfect, real, and occasionally weird.

As an Asian American psychologist, I also know that therapy does not happen outside of culture or context. I try to stay mindful of my own privileges and blind spots, and I’m committed to ongoing learning and unlearning, especially around anti-racist and culturally responsive practice.