PSYCHOTHERAPY

I provide psychotherapy for individuals age 18 and up.

I work with people who are living with many different mental health conditions or facing various life challenges. Some of the most common issues I address in therapy include:

  • Trauma

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Attachment Injuries

  • Relationship Issues

  • Caregiver Stress

  • Family Conflict

  • Life Transitions

  • Grief and Loss

  • Stress and Burnout

  • Self-Esteem

  • Personal Growth

As a trauma-informed therapist, I help individuals heal from both big “T” and little “t” traumas, and know that both can have devastating effects on an individual’s mental and physical health, daily functioning, and overall sense of safety and well-being. Big “T” traumas are most commonly associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and can result from experiencing or witnessing serious injury, accidents, sexual violence, physical assault, or life-threatening events. In comparison, Little “t” traumas are highly distressing events that tend to be more chronic and personal in nature, including emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, bullying or harassment, abandonment, or grief and loss. Little “t” traumas can cause significant emotional damage, especially if an individual experiences more than one event or if these traumas occur during important periods of brain development like early childhood and adolescence. For this reason, these traumas are also referred to as Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), Relational Trauma, or Developmental Trauma.

I specialize in supporting mixed race and multicultural individuals (with a particular emphasis on Asian American and Hapa individuals raised in Hawai’i) in “coming home” to embrace their full identity and reclaim their mental health. I am passionate about advocating for social justice, addressing systemic issues of social inequality, and destigmatizing mental health issues. My personal values have been shaped by my own multicultural upbringing, personal challenges as an Asian American, lifelong interest in foreign language and culture, and study of the cultural components of well-being. My experiences studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan, working with Bhutanese and Nepalese refugees at Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC) in Aurora, Colorado, and teaching international students in the Pan Pacific Program at Punahou School informed my doctoral research on the help-seeking attitudes and behaviors within Hawaii’s local Filipino community to help identify barriers to access and engagement in mental health services.

While I am a “client-based” therapist, I also lean on my own lived experiences to help me more fully understand the experiences of my clients and help them navigate their complexity of the issues they bring to therapy. My attunement to my clients and ability to hold space for us to collectively connect with and process the issues that hold them back is at the heart of my goal to help clients feel safe again so they can start healing.