I am Dr. Kao and I have my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I have over 16 years of experience working with a wide range of patients: in-patient, residential, outpatient/community mental health, substance abuse/eating disorders, and more. Since I was a child, people have always felt safe to share their stories with me and I have honed that into a skill of providing the space for patients to be open and vulnerable in therapy. I love being a part of a patient's journey to healing, self-awareness, and growth. I am always grateful when patients do me the honor of permitting me to walk alongside them therapeutically. In my current practice, I use my passion for facilitating every patient's journey through life and emphasizing the need for an authentic connection between myself and the patient. I am a professor, mentor, coach, and clinician, and am keen to look at a person’s unique lived experience and how it intersects with the systematic nature of culture, systems, and historical factors. I have presented at conferences, conducted professional training events and community workshops, and have been interviewed for radio programs, podcasts, and publications.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I will go over what you should expect from therapy and I will want to get to know you and what brings you to therapy. I will guide you through a brief background (biopsychosocial) while focusing on when your life began to become less manageable (onset of symptoms). This way, I can tailor your treatment and help you set the goals you would like to accomplish throughout therapy.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
For therapy to work, a strong therapeutic relationship is paramount. Being authentic is the key to building a trusting therapeutic relationship. Which means I bring myself to the session, genuinely and authentically. And I hope you feel the safety to do the same.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
Do you feel like you are at a crossroads? Or a point where you almost don't recognize yourself anymore? Are you falling into habits and patterns that used to work for you, but now you are floundering? Or maybe you are no longer finding joy in your life like you used to. Or don't feel seen or validated in your personal life, career, or social life. It would be an honor to help you cultivate the skills to grow and develop into a person who thinks and acts in a way that feels good and congruent.
Mind-body approach
I firmly believe in the connection between body and mind and how one's health is interconnected. Through mindfulness and awareness, I hope to support clients in their ability to think about how they can shift their thoughts but also how their body feels and how it reacts in various scenarios.
1 rating with written reviews
June 27, 2025
Dr. Kao is amazing, an empathetic mental health professional, that I consider part of my expended family. I am in debt to her for strategies and ways to improve & repair my relationships with my family. Being Asian myself, she understands my Polish (father's side) and Filipino (mothers' side of the family) GenX upbringing and how those past experiences influence my personality today. I have more work to accomplish with her and look optimistically forward to the future with her partnership.