Immigration/Acculturation

Together we will explore issues of home, belonging, and identity, as well as cultural expectations, individuality, and choice.

Immigration/acculturation brings many demands at once: language barriers, a different culture, and new hopes, expectations, and stressors. These changes can cause issues as individuals and families grow and change, especially between generations. Therapy can help you explore your identity and move forward while holding onto what you treasure most. I speak Spanish at a non-native advanced level and have worked extensively with immigrants and the children of immigrants from Latin America.

As a first generation immigrant I understand the unique challenges individuals face when it comes to assimilating to the dominant culture while also maintaining a sense of belonging to your country of origin. I have worked extensively with youth and their families around issues of honoring where they have come from while navigating the ideals of a capitalist and individualistic society.

I specialize in providing immigration evaluations for clients seeking a Hardship Waiver (601 & 601-A) on grounds of inadmissibility. Evaluations focus on hardship factors to qualifying family members who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. Evaluations can potentially help relatives that are at risk for deportation.

Currently offering immigration evaluations for hardship waivers. Evaluations can potentially help families at risk of deportation. I'm a graduate of the Immigration Evaluation Institute. I'm also listed on the Immigration Evaluation Directory, this directory is the primary resource for U.S.-based immigration attorneys.

This specialization comes from a lived experience. I was born and raised in South Korea until the age of ten, when I immigrated to the United States. I experienced, first-hand, all of the immigration trauma and hardship, including the grief of leaving behind a country, a culture, a family, and the ensuing loneliness and confusion during the process of acculturation.

I'm an immigrant from Greece and the Middle East who is now naturalized in the United States. As someone who identifies as racially ambiguous, I'm passionate about serving immigrant communities and addressing cross-cultural dynamics. I know firsthand how branching out while maintaining a connection to your culture can feel impossible. In therapy, I will work with you through a culturally-humble and culturally-affirming lens to help you navigate these challenging dynamics.

Historical/Intergenerational Trauma Racial Identity Family Conflict

I was born in Bangladesh in South Asia and immigrated to the USA when I was 3 year old. I speak Bangla at home and eat traditional meals. This is me now as an adult but it wasn't alway easy to accepts these parts of myself. This is also the work I do with clients who are trying to figure out where they are, who they are in the USA, tradition vs American values, family conflict, and feeling pulled from one direction to the next.

As an immigrant, I understand first hand the challenges one faces around acculturation and assimilation. Going through the immigration process can be scary and the pressure from the society along with family pressure can result in stress while feeling like you don't quite fit in. As your therapist, we will delve deeper around the challenges you face and assist you in feeling confident with yourself and finding healthy ways to cope with potential anxiety that can arise.

As the daughter of an immigrant, I grew up torn between two cultures. I acknowledge the internal pressure this creates. I love to work with clients on acknowledging their unique experiences as immigrants and children of immigrants. This includes processing: discrimination, immigration, language loss, erasure, survivor guilt, the grief of having family far away, perfectionism, and many more experiences.

I come from a unique background of spending my early childhood in South Korea and navigating the issues of adapting to a new culture after immigrating to the United States. I'm also passionate about raising awareness about the importance of therapy and destigmatizing mental illness in Asian American communities.

Many of my clients are first- or second-generation immigrants, some of whom experience stress related to cultural differences between their current and former homes. I respect clients’ decisions to find ways to honor aspects of both cultures. I am against the idea of treating white, American values as “normal” and anything else as a problem. I am also a descendant of immigrants and have the lived experience of being separated from ethnic traditions by past generations who chose to assimilate.

As an immigrant, I can relate to your experience. I have worked with immigrants and their families through all of my training. I look forward to hearing your immigration and acculturation story. I continue to stay on top of immigrant and racial issues in our country so that I can help individuals from various races and religions as they navigate through their racial identity, immigration story, and the challenges that they face.

I am a bilingual therapist fluently in English and Mandarin. I am familiar with culturally competent therapy and service. Born and raised in Taiwan, I have worked and clinically trained in the U.S in various Asian mental health setting including hospital outpatient department, community mental health clinic, school-based mental health services, and private practice. As an Asian American psychotherapist, I naturally connect with immigration and acculturation issues that clients experience.

I conduct Immigration Evaluations for: VAWA, Hardship Waiver, U Visa, T Visa, and Asylum cases. I work closely with individuals, families, and their attorneys that are seeking legal haven in the USA for a better, safer, and brighter future. Being an immigrant and a child of immigrant parents taught me firsthand the impact of intergenerational trauma and how challenging it is to be the first one to heal these cycles in a community where mental health is taboo.

In addition to providing therapy, I also conduct Immigration Psychological Evaluations to assist individuals and families in their immigration process. If your attorney suggested that you obtain a report from an immigration evaluation therapist, you’ve come to the right professional. I have worked with individuals from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and I’m experienced in conducting psychological assessments.

I am a Salvadorian Mexican American, and I understand the struggles of feeling like you don’t fit in in either culture. The struggles of having monolingual parents, the stress of having to be their interpreter and scribe, parent to your younger siblings and filter what information comes across into your household. Luckily, I was also witness to how hard work pays off and the power of setting goals and doing everything in your power to achieve them.

Personal Growth Values Clarification Racial Identity Family Conflict Historical/Intergenerational Trauma

I have the experience not only of having, myself, lived and worked in other countries in my adult life, but of having worked with refugees, immigrants, dislocated peoples, expats living abroad, and persons who have returned to their country of origin, as well as, those unable to return to the country of origin. I have an existential and person-centered non-pathologizing lens through which each person's lived experience is honored and is at the core of the therapeutic relationship.