I needed support as an adolescent and somehow at that time it translated into- I’d also like to support others. A more evolved term I have found for this is that I am a ‘wounded healer’ who brings empathy from lived experiences and balances it with inner work to ensure that my baggage does not spill into the space I am holding for others. I continue to do the work because it brings hope and possibility of improvement for people.

Being able to do work which is meaningful and can make a difference in people’s lives.

I’d like for people to feel a sense of safety, warmth, understanding and that there is a beginning of a trusting relationship. I wish that there is also a sense of hope that they will find at least some of what they are looking for in the therapy space with me.

Therapy is very unique for every individual. I can’t say what it will be like for you, but I am willing to explore it with you with curiosity and work towards making a space that caters to your needs.

My work is guided by the belief that people are the experts of their lives. I try to hold on to a sense of curiosity instead of ‘knowing’ as that helps me to ask open ended questions which are more explorative and foster collaboration. I am constantly asking myself ‘is this my goal or is this the client’s goal?’ so that the client’s requirements stay central in the therapeutic process. I believe that there is an inherent power dynamic in the therapy space and to make it easier for clients to disagree with me and give feedback, I try to gently and repeatedly iterate that they are welcome to do so. I treat what I say as hypothesis and ask check-in questions to make sure that I am understanding people right.

Humbleness that I am not the one making all the change and work happening. There is a lot of work that clients put in for their wellbeing that is often not even visible to the therapist. The moments where I check in on how things have changed for people is when this becomes the most apparent.

Reflexivity is one of my biggest strengths. I spend time in between sessions reflecting on myself, the work that I’ve been doing and learning things that can help me improve. I am committed to doing inner work that often requires me to sit with discomforts, but results in continuous growth. I have found creativity to be a very useful skill as well in the efforts towards tailoring the therapy space to the unique needs of each individual that I work with.

Currently, I am hooked to Korean dramas, K Pop and I am trying to learn Korean. I enjoy gardening, playing with my dog and at times painting or reading.

I take an eclectic approach, which means that I draw from various psychological theories instead of ascribing to any one. As much as possible, I try to take a strength-based approach which focuses on strengths first and not put undue attention on only ‘deficits’. All my work is rooted in understanding of what is happening in the world around us in its socio-cultural-political realms and how this impacts people.

I am constantly engaging with lived experience and academic knowledge to understand the nuances in the experiences of queer and trans* folks. I’ve been working on making the therapy processes queer affirmative through practices such as asking everyone pronouns in the first call, options to share details of chosen family as emergency contacts, offering to write letters to professional authorities when applicable etc.