3 therapists in California matching your needs

**ACCEPTING ADULTS (18+) ONLY** Hi, I'm Yang. And I'm here to help you heal from self-abandonment and emotional dysregulation. Self-abandonment occurs when we struggle to stand up for our needs and live by our authentic values; often, we don't even know what they are. Those who struggle with self-abandonment don't feel like they know who they really are, and what they want, and often feel directionless and ungrounded. We feel small, afraid, anxious, aggressive and dependent on others. Emotional dysregulation occurs when we don't understand our emotions and how to manage them. They control us, instead of the other way around. We behave in ways we wish we didn't, and we build up shame around those behaviors as if they are who we are. We cannot separate our emotions from who we are. These issues often lie at the heart of different mental health struggles, such as depression, anxiety, as well as many relationship challenges. The good news is that resolving these, therefore, can potentially lead to ripple effects of change in your life.

Areas of Expertise: PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Psychosomatic Disorders, Addiction, Relational Issues, Stress Management, Family Issues, Couple's Issues, Personal Growth, East/West Psychotherapy, Eating Disorders, Bipolar Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. 7 years ago I created Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, a novel and highly effective treatment that integrates mind, body and emotion. This method targets blocked emotion and inflammation. Most Western therapies are essentially mind-oriented, but we are so much more than our thoughts. My approach includes elements of Emotion Focused Therapy, Short Term Psychodynamic Therapy, Somatic Therapy and Zen Buddhism. Psychosomatic Psychotherapy treats all mental health conditions, many chronic medical conditions and is quickly effective at helping people and their problems. We begin by telling our story. We go at a slower pace than usual and we pay special attention to the emotionally important parts of the story, e.g., talking to our mother, worrying about work, conflict in a relationship, etc. Here we pause and direct our attention to our abdomen and ask, “How do/did I feel about this or that or him or her?” Then we wait. We don’t rush to answer the question with our heads, we wait for an answer to slowly arise from our bodies. We are bypassing our intellectual defenses and asking our bodies what’s really going on. When discover our feelings we express them in a full-throated and wholehearted way! Then we just feel (not analyze!) that feeling in our bodies until the feeling dissolves or almost completely dissolves, usually within a few minutes. Last, we scan our bodies for any lingering areas of tightness or tension in places like the stomach, chest, throat, head, jaw, neck, or face. When we discover where we’re holding stress and somaticized emotions, we feel these areas until the tension/tightness/emotion dissolves, usually within a few minutes. Developing a greater capacity to feel also provides critical and deeper insight into our issues. The overall goal is to unblock emotions and reduce dangerous inflammation by metabolizing and processing emotions and somatic constrictions in the body. Along the way, we are also challenging old, disempowering stories and replacing them with more accurate, empowering narratives. When treatment integrates the cognitive, emotional, and somatic dimensions of our conditions, mental and physical symptoms are significantly reduced.

Hello! I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California, New York, and Nevada. I received my Masters from the University of Southern California (USC) and have practiced for 13 years. I have worked with the LGBTQI+ community, as well as those beginning or deciding to move on to graduate programs and those navigating the stresses of anxiety and depression.