Family therapy and counseling in Glen Allen, VA

I’m a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) dedicated to helping individuals across the life span achieve mental health balance and resilience. My approach combines medication management with supportive therapy, always tailored to your unique needs.

Clients often describe me as compassionate, collaborative, and practical. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, depression, ADHD, or life transitions, I provide evidence-based care in a welcoming environment where you can feel heard and supported.

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia with over 22 years of experience in the mental health field. I’ve had the privilege of working in a variety of settings, including social services as a child abuse investigator, outpatient counseling with children, adolescents, and families, inpatient psychiatric care, clinical leadership roles, and doctoral-level research on family caregiver stress and coping, which I later published.

I hold an Associate of Arts and Sciences, a Bachelor of Science in College and Community Counseling, a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Philosophy.

I work with adolescents ages 14 and up as well as adults, and I specialize in supporting people through anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, stress, codependency, domestic violence, chronic health conditions, mood concerns, parenting stress, life transitions, and PTSD. I also have experience working with veterans and individuals dealing with complex and overwhelming life circumstances.

My goal is to create a safe, supportive space where people feel understood and not judged.

Mental health issues may be difficult to discuss with loved ones, especially if there are cultural barriers. As an Asian American, I experienced the phenomenon of feeling like I had two separate identities. I often felt like an outsider as I questioned “who am I?” While there are many cultural barriers we must face with mental health, you don’t have to face them alone! I can help you navigate your experiences with cultural identification, family communication, children’s mental health, (e.g. depression, anxiety, and/or behavioral concern), parenting, and diversity.

Partner 1: “I reach for you, but it feels like you’re already gone.” I’m left wondering if I matter to you at all.” Partner 2: “When you come close, I feel the pressure to be perfect, so I pull back to protect us both.” These unspoken messages leave couples lonely and stuck. I help break this anxious–avoidant cycle so partners feel safe, seen, and deeply connected again.

“I don’t understand why I want closeness so badly, yet feel disappointed when I have it. Why do I feel lonelier than others, even when I’m not alone?” Or: “I care deeply, but people say I’m distant or hard to read. When emotions get intense, I shut down—not because I don’t feel, but because it feels like too much.”

These quiet tensions live beneath awareness for many people. Longing and self-protection pull in opposite directions. Needs feel confusing, emotions feel overwhelming or unsafe, and core beliefs quietly form—I’m too much, I’m not enough, connection costs me something.

I help people loosen these patterns, reconcile the Self with more truthful and adaptive beliefs, and move toward self-acceptance and interdependence—where connection no longer threatens safety, but deepens it.

After nine years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, I realized my deepest fulfillment came not from fixing systems, but from walking with people. Leaving the military was not a departure from service—it was a continuation of it. I pursued social work and theological training to better support people in their most important relationships. Today, my practice is devoted to couples counseling and trauma-informed care. Drawing primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and EMDR, I help couples slow conflict, understand what drives disconnection, and emotional safety. As a veteran and seminary-trained therapist, I bring structure, compassion, and steady hope—meeting clients with respect, grace, and a belief in lasting change.

Finding the right therapist can feel overwhelming — and sometimes the hardest part is simply starting. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Registered Art Therapist, and Master Addictions Counselor, I bring more than two decades of experience supporting individuals, couples, and families through some of life’s most challenging moments.

I have my Master of Social Work from New York University and have worked in Social Services and Behavioral Healthcare for more than 26 years between New York City and Philadelphia. I offer individual therapy to support my clients in their work to live their best lives, whatever that means to them. I have experience working in inpatient psychiatry and outpatient counseling.