Teens and Adults Psychotherapy in San Francisco

My Teachers Are My Communities

I started out my “counseling/therapy” career as a HIV/AIDS testing counselor and a program coordinator in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood after working several years in the art industry. During my six-year tenure there, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a diverse population of adults with HIV related issues, as well as LGBTQ specific challenges. This led me to continue pursuing a career in psychotherapy. Having great discussions with my clients on interesting topics from "Why do we suffer?" to "What's our purpose?", I knew that this was a career that I could learn from my clients as well as share my expertise on managing risks in one's life. I particularly enjoyed exchanging ideas with them about an existentialist way of looking at our lives. Witnessing my clients having an "Aha!" breakthrough moment was particularly rewarding.

Around this time, I also encountered numerous adult clients who were not comfortable with talking to a stranger about their issues since their cultural background did not include the concept of Western psychotherapy. Instead, some of our community members often turned to expressive arts, spiritual guidance, clergy, and/or self-actualization practices. They appeared to be more comfortable with self-reflective exercises to uncover their deepest pain.

This is when I learned about Morita and Naikan therapies. Both Eastern Philosophy-based modalities rely on our ability to turn our attention away from an idea of what should have been and face the maladaptive notion that actually puts ourselves in a difficult situation. Morita and Naikan were the thesis subjects that I worked on in graduate school as well. After graduation, I continued studying both Morita and Naikna through Constructive Living seminars led by David Reynolds, PhD, and the Japanese Psychology program led by Gregg Krech at the Todo Institute. I was certified in Japanese Psychology in 2007, and I have been incorporating both Morita and Naikan concepts into my Western psychology practice ever since.

After earning my master’s degree in clinical psychology from New College of California in 2007, I was hired by a local non-profit (NPO) agency that placed me at a public high school as a substance abuse prevention and treatment counselor. Previously, I had never worked extensively with adolescents, but I discovered that working with this challenging yet resilient population was very gratifying. While using person-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI) technique, brief strategic family therapy (BSFT), and mindfulness exercises such as Expressive Arts Therapy, Eastern-based Morita Therapy, and Naikan reflection to help them manage stress and substance use, I also ran support groups, organized school-wide substance abuse prevention activities, and classroom presentations. 

It was such a great learning experience that when the federal funding at the high school ended after three and a half years, I continued providing psychotherapy for students with trauma history at another public middle school. On the days that I was not at school and was at the NPO agency clinic, I had an opportunity again to work with adult clients with anxiety, depression, and trauma-related adverse childhood experiences. I left this place after 10 years and am currently working with clients at my private practice in San Francisco, California. 

However, being in the US, I felt that I lacked formal clinical guidance from Japanese Morita Therapy specialists. It is essential to learn from active experts and researchers across various clinical settings where Morita Therapy has been practiced for the past century. I sought out opportunities to study under specialists whenever I could in Japan. After more than 100 hours of clinical Morita Therapy training, case consultations, and supervision by the Japanese mentors, publishing a clinical research paper, and giving numerous presentations at both national and international Morita conferences, I was officially certified as a clinical Morita Therapy specialist by the Japanese Society for Morita Therapy and appointed by the International Committee for Morita Therapy as an international Morita Therapy consultant in 2025.

Because of my diverse clinical experience with people from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and challenges, I am dedicated to working with anyone who is willing to reflect on their lives and improve their ability to manage life’s obstacles.

Contact me for a FREE 20-MINUTE PHONE CONSULTATION 415.823.0022