Yenan Chen

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 14 years of experience, specializing in culturally responsive therapy for Asian, Asian American, and immigrant communities. I especially enjoy working with adults and young adults who may look capable and high-functioning on the outside, but internally feel anxious, overwhelmed, emotionally stuck, or disconnected from themselves.

As an Asian immigrant and bilingual therapist, I understand how culture, family expectations, immigration experiences, identity, and the pressure to succeed can shape our emotional lives. I work with clients navigating anxiety, depression, stress, life transitions, relationships, parenting, grief, and questions of identity and belonging.

I also have extensive experience supporting parents and mothers through pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, and the challenges of early parenthood. Therapy with me is a space where you don’t have to perform, have everything figured out, or explain every cultural nuance before feeling understood.

My approach is warm, collaborative, culturally responsive, and practical. I don’t believe therapy should feel like following the same formula for everyone. We’ll first understand what is happening beneath the surface—your emotions, patterns, relationships, cultural experiences, and the ways you’ve learned to cope—and then decide together what would actually be helpful.

My work is integrative and draws primarily from cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and strength-based perspectives. Depending on your needs, we may work on understanding patterns in your thoughts and emotions, developing practical coping and problem-solving skills, exploring how past experiences affect the present, or making space for questions of identity, relationships, culture, and meaning.

I value both insight and practical change. My goal is not to tell you how to live your life, but to help you understand yourself more clearly, develop tools that work in your real life, and make choices that feel more aligned with who you want to be.

You can expect me to bring warmth, curiosity, genuineness, and a little humor into our sessions. I want therapy to feel like a place where you can be honest—even when your thoughts feel messy, contradictory, or difficult to say out loud—without worrying about being judged.

My style is empowering, open-minded, and strength-based. I’ll listen carefully and help you notice patterns, understand your emotional responses, and develop practical ways to handle the challenges you’re facing. I respect your autonomy and won’t assume that I know your life better than you do, but I also won’t leave you alone to figure everything out.

Over time, I hope you leave therapy not only feeling less overwhelmed, but also understanding yourself better, trusting yourself more, and feeling more able to build a life that feels meaningful and genuinely yours.