Are you grappling with indecision, unsure of whether therapy is the right path for you? Maybe you come from an immigrant culture with mental health stigma and are wondering if therapy is going to help or if it’s even worth the investment. Perhaps your parents sacrificed greatly to provide this life for you, and you have feelings of guilt and shame about living your life for your family vs. yourself. Maybe you have experienced family trauma and are worried about passing it down to your own children. You may be dealing with racial trauma or microaggressions in your relationships, the workplace, or within the larger systems of society and feeling helpless about it. You may also struggle with balancing multicultural identities: what does it mean to be Asian, American, or both?
You may feel a constant need to earn or prove you are worthy of being loved, sometimes resulting in high self-criticism or perfectionism. Maybe you do not have a safe space to express your emotions or struggle with how to express these in a healthy way, so you tend to keep them in. This may include trouble with expressing anger or frustration, as well as trouble with intimacy and affection. This may be seen in romantic relationships.
If any of these issues ring true for you, I can relate and I want to help. My goal is to genuinely connect with my clients by creating a safe, compassionate, and collaborative therapeutic space. I celebrate all cultures and recognize that everyone is living in a unique context, so treatment should be tailored as such for each client. I offer a person-centered, multi-modal approach drawing from psychodynamic and attachment theories, cognitive-behavioral therapy, trauma-informed care including EMDR, Gottman Method for couples counseling, dance movement therapy, and the human-animal bond.
Now, imagine feeling fulfilled and satisfied, loved and accepted. This is what you will achieve through the work we will be doing together. As a result of my approach, you will learn more about yourself, how you relate to others, how you relate to yourself (self-compassion), and how to develop healthy coping skills to deal with stressors and ultimately lead a fulfilling life.
Experience:
Crystal is a Mental Health Counselor, Limited Permit holder. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago. She then worked as a Customer Success Manager/Account Manager at various healthcare and corporate catering tech start-ups for several years. Looking to improve clients’ lives in a more personal approach, she switched careers into the mental health space and obtained a master’s degree in Counseling for Mental Health & Wellness from New York University.
Client Focus:
Adults (18+); individuals, couples
Types of therapy:
Person-centered, Psychodynamic/Attachment, CBT, EMDR, Trauma-informed, Mindfulness, Mind-Body Connection, Human-Animal Bond.
Issues:
Depression, Anxiety, Grief work (including pet bereavement, friendship loss, job loss etc..), Career Anxiety, Cultural Identity work, Racial and Intergenerational Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Relationship boundaries, Self-Esteem
More than just my work:
My biggest passions include food adventures, dance (house/hip-hop), martial arts (muay thai), and my mini sheepadoodle doggy.
Click on the link below to begin your healing journey!