Hitomi Fujikura

Hi!

My name is Hitomi Fujikura, and I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master's Degree in Social Work, working with clients in California via telehealth. I work with adults of all ages and specialize in working with people looking for support with anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, and ADHD through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

I work with adults on the individual and/or family level(s) and have found that fostering strong support, skill development, and practices of acceptance and self-compassion are effective regardless of background. My relationship with clients is collaborative and aims to address stress and anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness, and struggles in relationships, as well as trauma and OCD symptoms. I also enjoy working with clients who’d like to learn to work with their neurodivergent ADHD brains instead of against them. It’s important to me to work with people from diverse backgrounds, but I’m especially passionate about being a space for those from minority populations like people of color and queer people who may face adversity as a result of their identity.

Being a child of immigrants and a queer biracial Asian woman, I’ve been in a place where I needed support and a person to listen but didn’t think anyone would understand me or the complexities of my experiences. I pursued a career in the healing field because I hope to be someone who provides a sense of safety for people and helps instill hope when it feels difficult to access. I enjoy the process of seeing people learn, grow, and care for themselves in a greater capacity and I feel proud to be alongside them on their journey.

Both in my own therapeutic work and my work with clients, I’ve learned that some of the most impactful aspects of therapy are having the space to share your experiences authentically and feeling heard, seen, and understood by your therapist. An authentic connection between therapist and client is at the core of my work, and my approach to therapy is one in which we’ll walk alongside each other as you embark on your healing journey. The type of therapy I’ll use will depend on your struggles and goals for therapy, but I’ve found the most success using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and EMDR (a type of therapy focused on reprocessing past traumatic experiences that helps to decrease current symptoms of trauma). In addition to these, I supplement with other types of therapy like Compassion Focused Therapy and creative therapies to support folks in self-advocacy and expression.

I consider my communication style to be relaxed and approachable, really getting to know my clients so I can provide them with the best understanding and care. I’m flexible and can spend our time together listening, providing feedback and reflection, or both, depending on what you need. I also use humor quite a bit and will probably laugh at my own jokes, and you might even catch me using my “pets only” voice if my dog wants to join our session for a bit!

In our first session, we’ll spend some time getting to know each other so you can build comfort as we begin working together. I’ll ask you to share how you’ve been feeling and what your life has been like lately, then ask some follow-up questions to identify what you’d like to gain from therapy. It can take time to establish trust, so whether you’re someone who prefers to move at a relaxed pace or dive right in, we can find what works for you!

When setting goals, I aim for this to be a collaborative process. We’ll identify what you’d like to work toward and work together to break down these goals into smaller steps to empower you with confidence in your ability to achieve them. If your goals shift, we’ll adapt to the things you want to focus on.