LP, 7 years of experience
Hello, I am Hanako! I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia. I am trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist as well. I use an integrative approach and typically lean toward a fluid experiential and process-oriented work. I will meet you where you are and value the relationship we build in co-creating a safe space. I am very honored to be a part of your journey! I am fluent in both Japanese and English. I believe most of our mental health challenges impact and are impacted by interpersonal relationships. I am passionate in helping you process your family of origin challenges, identity, relationship struggles, and parenting concerns...and naturally address the bidirectional nature of your intrapersonal and interpersonal patterns.
In our first session, we will get to know each other a little and dive into your presenting concerns—reasons why you sought help. I will also get a sense of your background, symptoms history, attachment history, and how you are functioning currently. I will end the session with identified goals for the treatment and a general plan of how we can best work together.
I have developed great comfort and flexibility in working with diverse presenting concerns and life stages. I feel the most effective when the client believes in the process, invests equally in our rapport building, and communicates well with me. I would appreciate transparent feedback so I can recourse my approach when needed. I would rather address a rupture in the moment; I like a client who can let me know if they are upset with me.
I love working with motivated clients who want to better their lives. My clients may have previous therapy experiences or none. As long as my clients want my help, I am there to meet where they are. I especially love working with clients with interpersonal challenges, such as romantic relationships, family-of-origin relationships, or parent-child conflict. I believe improving relationships will significantly enhance one’s quality of life!
I did my training with EMDR Consulting Inc. I completed all the requirements for a certification. I use EMDR for various presenting issues (e.g., PTSD, phobia, attachment injury) as long as it is appropriate and the client consents.
In couples therapy, I often integrate the EFT approach to explore each partner's core attachment needs to reframe the observed unhelpful behavior. My goal is to help the partners realize that they have so much desire to be seen and that they can learn to respond to the other partner's attachment needs better and express their attachment needs effectively.
In individual or couples therapy, I like exploring how the attachment history might be informing my client's current interpersonal patterns. I also like to address attachment pattern observed within the therapeutic alliance and uses them as needed to model a healthier attachment pattern.
I have incorporated internal family systems in my sessions with clients struggling with past traumas in the past three years. I also use ego-state therapy to help the client connect with their younger parts and provide the affirmation or healing the wounded part might need.
As a Japanese-American immigrant woman, I have a passion for validating the pain of experiencing microaggressions and systemic barriers as a minoritized individual. I am also in an interracial marriage, which provides me with a nuanced lens to understand the challenges of intercultural communication.