What to talk about in therapy
Unsure what to talk about in therapy? Here’s a guide on how to get the most out of each session with ideas for therapy topics to discuss.
You’re tired of questioning yourself and feeling “not enough.” Painful experiences in your past colored your inner world gray… Lingering wounds like childhood trauma, narcissistic partners, and betrayal trauma impact how you see yourself and interact with others.
You want to break free from being a perfectionist, people-pleaser, or high achiever compensating for internalized self-blame, shame, or inadequacy. Using a blend of brainspotting and psychoanalysis, we can tap into the connection between your body, brain, and psyche to work through stuck points in your inner world, as well as your social, cultural, and familial landscapes.
Providing Virtual Therapy in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and DC.
Oftentimes, the reason that led you to seek therapy is just the tip of the iceberg.
My approach is to help you address the core issues underlying your struggles. I am interactive and collaborative, which means that I won’t sit and stare at you quietly for the whole session. In fact, we will work together in this journey towards self-discovery, healing, and growth.
Even though there are no quick fixes or easy answers when it comes to healing, people can experience growth and development as they work through past traumas. My goal is to help you process old pain, gain insight into its origins and how it shaped you, reframe limiting narratives from your past, and integrate fragmented pieces of you into a cohesive sense of self.
I invite you to bring all the nuanced and diverse parts of your identity to this process. As an Asian American therapist, I am sensitive to the ways that our genders, racial-ethnic identities, countries of origin, sexual orientations, personal and family immigration histories, religions, abilities and body sizes can shape our inner thought and emotional life. Often, our psychological issues have some history in inherited pain or trauma that has been passed down for decades. Together, we can work through those experiences to help you develop a more cohesive sense of self.
I believe that our self-awareness is vital to overcoming emotional pain and living a meaningful life. Growing up in an immigrant Chinese family, I’ve always been fascinated by the mental and emotional world of people around me. The human psyche is so complex!
Although mental health was not spoken about within the different communities I belonged to growing up, I had a gnawing sense that whenever someone was labeled ‘“lazy”, “selfish”, or “attention-seeking” by the media, people in my school, or communities I belong to, it was simply not enough. I wanted to understand others and how they came to be. When I became a therapist, this passion solidified; I witnessed the changes and possibilities clients experience as they grow to understand themselves on a deeper level. There is so much more to everyone, you included, if you are willing to do the work and look within.
The journey of self-discovery, self-exploration, and healing is by no means easy or quick but it’s one of the best gifts you can give to yourself.
Four -Year Psychoanalytic Training, Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy (2022)
Brainspotting Phase 1 & 2 (2024)
Master of Social Work, Silberman School of Social Work a Hunter College (2017)
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, New York University (2014)
2-Day: Trauma Conference: The Body Keeps Score-Trauma Healing with Bessel van der Kolk, MD (2020)
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Even though there are no quick fixes or easy answers when it comes to healing, people can experience growth and development as they work through past traumas. Successful professionals struggling with high-functioning anxiety and depression can finally move toward clarity and fulfillment in their inner world.
Cultivating and deepening your self-awareness is a journey towards recognizing and understanding all aspects of yourself, the things that trigger you, your inner dialogues, your emotions, including difficult ones such as shame, jealousy, and anger.
Without understanding yourself, you may inadvertently remain stuck in patterns of thinking, feeling, and being that stifle the quality of your life.
There is so much more to everyone, you included if you are willing to do the work and look within.
Deepening your self-awareness and helping you heal from past pains is my aim in therapy.
Click here to learn more about what makes our practice different.
Meeting consistently and stably on a weekly basis will help build safety and trust, which is essential for the work to progress on a deeper level. Biweekly sessions impact the effectiveness of therapy.
Often, meeting less frequently results in a ‘catch up’ type of session and does not allow for the time, space, and emotional capacity needed to address what goes on beneath the surface.
Depending on the level of our work, there are also times when meeting two or more times a week is appropriate, and that will always come from us talking and making that decision together.
Therapy can last any time between a year to many more, as long as you are still progressing from our work. The length of therapy depends on what you want and need, and what you want/need can be fluid and dynamic.
Healing and personal growth is not strict or predictable. You can start off by wanting to address something very specific (e.g. “I want to feel less anxious”), but through our work together could realize a deeper meaning to these anxious symptoms (e.g. “I feel anxious because I am terrified of intimacy” to “I’ve had very familiar experiences of being emotionally suffocated when I was close to people”). Realizing these deeper long-standing issues may then shape the focus and length of treatment.
Regardless of why you are seeking therapy and how long you hope to be in treatment, it is important to remember that your thoughts and input are invaluable to us, and the pace and length of treatment will always be a collaborative discussion.
No information will be released without your written consent unless mandated by law. Possible exceptions to confidentiality include but are not limited to the following situations: child abuse; abuse of the elderly or disabled; criminal prosecutions; situations where the client is a danger, physically or emotionally, to themselves or another person.
Anyone who wants a space to explore and discover more about themselves can benefit from therapy. If you’re unsure, try asking yourself these questions:
You may not need to know the full answer to these questions to try a few sessions. Sometimes, mulling this over aloud with a therapist can help you sort out your thoughts and answers. That’s also part of the therapy process!
A 45-minute session for individual therapy is $250 and 60-minute session for couples therapy is $330. Limited sliding scale slots are available depending on financial need.
We are out-of-network providers for all major insurances, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, and United Health Care.
Out-of-network psychotherapy coverage varies by carrier and policy. If you have out-of-network coverage, you can get reimbursed approximately 50-80% of each session after the deductible is met. It can be confusing if you don’t know the right questions to ask. Here is some guidance below.
Here are 3 simple steps.
Therapists, like all humans, have different personalities and ways of working. Naturally, not everyone will be a match for each other. That being said, we are still happy to have been a part of your journey and want to help in any way we can by offering recommendations for your therapist search as well as reaching out to our networks to see if anyone offers the kind of therapy you are looking for 🙂
Therapy at our practice is not a passive process or a quick solution. People seeking a quick fix without having to do much work themselves may not be a good fit. Therapy is a gradual and ongoing process. It involves self-discovery, exploration, and developing coping mechanisms over time. Meaningful change often requires time and consistent effort.
Unsure what to talk about in therapy? Here’s a guide on how to get the most out of each session with ideas for therapy topics to discuss.
Interested in a therapeutic approach that goes beyond surface-level symptom relief and dives into the underlying roots of your challenges? In this blog post, we will geek out (in detail!) on all the aspects of psychodynamic therapy, a therapeutic approach that helps you uncover the underlying patterns, unresolved conflicts, and unconscious processes that may hold you back.
Inner child wounds are attachment injuries we carry into adulthood because of childhood trauma. Here are some signs & ways to heal your inner child.
Quality virtual counseling for emotional healing & emotional wellness.
In New York, New Jersey, and DC