Lily Lu

This is the most common complaint from my clients due to the current COVID-19 situation as well as the stressful environment particularly in high tech in the Bay Area. I typically use CBT and exposure methods to help my clients resulting in relief and recovery.

Another common complaint is difficulties in having a good relationship or marriage with a partner due to differences in communication style. This is particularly pronounced in today's COVID-19 shelter-in-place situation. I typically use an emotion-focused couple's dialogue as well as the Gottman Method Couple's Therapy to improve a couple's communication and interactions.

Depression typically co-occurs with anxiety and poor relationships. I use CBT and DBT coupled with mindfulness to help my clients work through the negative triad of dysfunctional thoughts, feelings and behaviors to reduce symptoms and accelerate recovery. I also team up with my clients and sometimes with their psychiatrists to assess the type of depression particularly if it is unipolar or bipolar.

Couples tend to come in due to communication issues. On closer look, they usually repeat the way their parents communicated. As such, it is important to point out those issues from an attachment perspective to increase awareness. Techniques such as emotion-focused and imago therapies as well as the Gottman Method Couple's Therapy help couples reduce in-the-moment anger or "shut-down". These improve the couple's positive attention and compassion towards each other.

CBT addresses the common triad of thoughts-feelings-behaviors that trigger anxiety, panic attacks, and depression as well as addictions, anger, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Working with clients using CBT helps my clients retain information and techniques which allow them to use these skills over their lifetime.

Given the stressful COVID-19 situation, many people tended to go into the past as part of their grieving process over loss as well as into the dark future given that there is no clear solution to the virus problem. ACT helps clients reduce these anxious and depressed thoughts so that they are stronger and more resilient in accepting how they are feeling and transforming that into a healthier way of thinking, feeling, and behaving.