About Me
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Missouri-approved clinical supervisor, and a doctoral-level clinician with over 25 years of experience providing psychotherapy, clinical supervision, teaching, research, and professional training. My work reflects a deep integration of clinical practice, scholarship, and leadership across diverse settings and populations. My approach to therapy is holistic, relational, and integrative—honoring the interconnectedness of mind, body, emotions, relationships, environment, lifestyle, and meaning.
I believe that all people have an innate capacity for healing and transformation, and that growth occurs when we reconnect with our inner wisdom and live in alignment with our values, purpose, and authentic selves. I focus on meeting clients where they are and creating a space of safety, compassion, and attunement, while exploring core beliefs, cognitive patterns, relational strategies, and environmental and lifestyle influences that may be shaping—or limiting—healing and well-being.
I place strong emphasis on nervous system regulation, emotional processing, relational safety, and heart-centered coherence, recognizing that healing occurs not only through insight, but through felt experiences of connection, safety, and meaning. I believe that how we experience the world is deeply shaped by our internal state, our relationships, and the environments in which we live, and that as we heal and remove internal obstacles, we naturally relate to ourselves and others in more compassionate, empowered, and connected ways.
My Clinical Philosophy & Professional Journey
As an immigrant who came to the United States at the age of 19 as an international student, and as someone who has spent over 17 years working in trauma recovery settings, I have a deep understanding of adjustment, loneliness, cultural transition, and the emotional complexity of rebuilding life in a new environment. I have also navigated my own significant life transitions and have had the privilege of working with thousands of clients from diverse backgrounds, each carrying their own stories, struggles, and strengths.
These experiences—both personal and professional—have profoundly shaped how I understand suffering, resilience, and healing.
Through both my personal journey and my clinical work, it has become profoundly clear to me that much of human suffering is rooted in unhealed relational wounds.
Research, including the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, shows that unhealed trauma can be carried across generations, affecting not only emotional and mental health, but also physical health, relationships, and overall well-being. When trauma is not healed, its impact often continues in our children and future generations. Healing, therefore, is not only a personal act—it is a powerful intergenerational gift.
Each of us carries influences from ancestral and intergenerational trauma, in utero and early developmental experiences, early attachment relationships, family rules around emotional expression, cultural expectations and systemic forces, and our current environment, including relationships, career, lifestyle, and community. All of these shape our mental, emotional, physical, relational, and even spiritual well-being.
One of the longest studies in the world, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, has consistently shown that the strongest predictor of long-term health, happiness, and life satisfaction is the quality of our relationships—not only romantic partnerships, but also friendships, community connections, and the relationship we have with ourselves.
I also pay close attention to the environments that surround and shape those relationships. Our nervous systems are not formed only through connection, but through the rhythms, demands, and emotional tone of our daily lives. Lifestyle matters—nutrition, movement, sleep, time in nature, what you read, what you listen to, and where you place your attention all directly influence your nervous system, energy, and emotional resilience.
Suffering is an inevitable part of being human, and both positive and painful experiences shape who we become. However, when stress, loss, or adversity fall outside our window of tolerance, they can become depleting—emotionally, physically, relationally, and even spiritually. Over time, this can pull us into survival mode rather than allowing us to live from a grounded, regulated, and aligned place.
In my work, the goal is not to eliminate struggle, but to help clients expand their capacity, integrate their experiences, and move forward with greater awareness. Together, we work toward making choices from clarity, alignment, and self-trust—rather than from reactivity, fear, or old protective patterns that no longer serve.