Hi, I'm Dr. Kim 👋
I'm a Hong Kong-based Clinical Psychologist, passionate about creating a prevention before cure approach to health and decreasing the stigma around mental health through advocacy and talk therapy.
About Me
I’m a mother, therapist, advocate and athlete. I appreciate we all wear different hats at different times in our lives and the season of life I meet people in isn’t their whole story - life is messy and people are complicated. In particular, growing up in today's world comes with an information overload and attention demand that none of us could have prepared for. As a therapist, I am here to help connect the dots to make life easier to manage. The first step in finding the support we need is learning how to talk about what we are going through. Growing up in Hong Kong I know first-hand the pressures and complications that young people and families face. This is a fast-paced, international, competitive city and this impacts young people ae young people feel it too. My life-long passion for working with and supporting young people has taken me from theater-intervention programs, university research, NGO’s, special needs education to private practice. At the core of my training and clinical skill set, is a deep commitment to helping young people understand themselves better so they can self-regulate, advocate and know how to ask for help as they naviage the many challenges of life.
Working in the mental health and the education industry over the last 12 years, the importance of young people's mental health and taking on a preventative approach to mental health has stood out significantly to me. As a clinical psychologist we clearly see the impact of untreated childhood mental health issues - 50% of mental health problems are established by 14 years old. There’s nothing more important to me than taking care of young people’s big feelings (which are usually communicated through big behaviors!) and helping them find less distressing coping strategies. Outside of the clinical work I have a deep appreciation of the mind-body connection. As a Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) brown belt, I support and train with a community of martial artists. BJJ is known as chess of the human body - it is as cerebral as it is physical! The practice has been a monumental part of my life for over 10 years.  It brings my great joy supporting the children's program and watching how this sport empowers and supports their development.
My Education
I am a registered member of the American Psychology Association and Hong Kong Medical Association. I received both my Doctorate and Master degree in Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University (AIU) and my Bachelor degree in Psychology at the University of Southern California (USC). I am deeply interested in the mind-body connection and exploring different therapy modalities. My dissertation studied the lived experience of sensory deprivation tanks.
I have worked in Special Needs Education (SEN), private practice and NGO’s in Hong Kong. Working across the developmental timeline from children to adults, I work with compassion, care, and from a child-centred approach.
My Approach
I believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive emotionally, as once this happens, everything else seems to 'magically' fall into place. A lot of the time people come to therapy as there is problematic behaviour at play, when we start to understand behaviour as communication - especially with young people, we can start to find different ways to communicate unmet needs. I have found that 6-8 week therapy cycles are truly transformative for young people, planting seeds of self-awareness and care that last for years.
Whenever I work with young people, I appreciate I am always working with a family and school system. Therapy is a collaborative process, as ultimately healing will happen at home. Working with parents and fostering a shared emotional vocabulary, therapy aims to improve communication and understanding for the whole family unit. I believe that open and positive dialogue surrounding mental health and problems is essential for breaking down barriers and creating a supportive network for young people to thrive.
What is family therapy?
Home is where the heart is. So when there is tension at home it has an effect on everyone’s wellbeing. At times, it can feel like one family member is responsible for the chaos felt by the entire family unit. Irrespective of causality, solution occurs when the family unit cohesively works together towards strategic goals.
There are times in the therapeutic process where individual therapy can only take healing so far. Family sessions, sometimes with the whole family other times with certain family members, allows family members and home-life to be a greater part of the support team with understanding and insight into therapeutic coping skills.
Each family is unique, with their own culture and communication styles, sometimes issues come up seemingly out of nowhere and other times challenges arise through bigger life events such as divorce, death and trauma. Ultimately each family is their own team, and figuring out how to make the team function better leads to a happier home for all.
