Racial Identity

As a person of color raised in the U.S., I understand it is extemeley difficult and traumatizing to deal with the daily issues that racism and systemic racism create. I work with individuals that seek to understand how their racial identity humanizes and empowers their being in this world.

Today’s cultural climate is taxing. Your life matters. Through the Woods offers counseling that’s sensitive to cultural issues and the experiences of people of color. Counseling at Through the Woods lets you process trauma, think out loud in a safe place, and truly feel seen. Let your experience be witnessed.

As I transitioned from being Korean to Korean-American, there was a lot of questioning of my racial identity. Throughout the past 30+ years, I have intensely reflected on matters of belonging, acceptance, self-worth, and authenticity. This is an ongoing journey to feel secure in who I am, as I evolve in various life roles, which includes being a mother, a wife, a daughter to aging parents, and a therapist.

In the U.S., colonization and imperialism have functioned to extract power and voice from many. As a result, the line between trauma & culture for many folks of color (especially Black & Indigenous) can become blurred. My approach is rooted in celebrating & exploring identities, and understanding how our stories can nourish connection to self and others.

There are many individuals who are facing multiple forms of violence through relationships with toxic systems. In my work, I stress that real love does not require one to give up their freedom for the sake of belonging. It’s in the power of our ability to use our voice and to think and feel for ourselves that we find the power to stand alone and stand with others. The ability to do both is what real freedom and real love requires. You deserve to be free and to feel love.

Today’s cultural climate is taxing—your life matters. Through the Woods offers counseling that’s sensitive to cultural issues and the experiences of people of color. Counseling at Through the Woods lets you process trauma, think out loud in a safe place, and genuinely feel seen. Let your experience be witnessed.

Your identity is the essence of who you are. Being a minority is an important part of your identity, involving a variety of unique experiences and struggles. Having your unique perspective understood by another person is extremely important and essential to working through the challenges you face. Through a culturally sensitive lens, I will cater our sessions to your individual needs and guide our process as you grow towards self-acceptance.

Transracial adoption is the act of placing a child of one racial or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another racial or ethnic group, and the majority of transracial adoptions in the US have involved the placement of a non-white child into a white family. What has been less simple to quantify are the long-term social, emotional, & spiritual implications of transracial adoption on the transracial adoptees themselves, and shining light into these murky areas is my primary clinical focus.

As a multiracial/mixed person, I have several years of experience learning about mixed race identities and racial identity development. In addition to my own lived experience, I draw on academic research, films, novels, personal accounts and more in my approach to this topic.

Today’s cultural climate is taxing—your life matters. Through the Woods offers counseling that’s sensitive to cultural issues and the experiences of people of color. Counseling at Through the Woods lets you process trauma, think out loud in a safe place, and genuinely feel seen. Let your experience be witnessed.

As a black man in America i first hand understand and have the lived experience of what it is like being black in this country. As a first generation African American, i also have the lived experience of being raised in two different cultures and navigating the different cultural dynamics.

As a Black therapist, I will give you the space to process your identity and racial trauma, as well as, any challenges that come with navigating a white supremacy society.

Much of my graduate level research and training has been in understanding the complex racial identity development of people of color and White individuals. My dissertation research included examining how Black clients responded to White therapists who overtly broach cross-racial differences in the therapy session.

Today’s cultural climate is taxing—your life matters. Through the Woods offers counseling that’s sensitive to cultural issues and the experiences of people of color. Counseling at Through the Woods lets you process trauma, think out loud in a safe place, and genuinely feel seen. Let your experience be witnessed.

I prioritize greater contexts of generational, ancestral and community strength as we navigate difficulties you may be experiencing. I also strive to support you in re-discovering your power by examining the sociopolitical histories of the many physical places we inhabit.

Through my own journey and working with others I know the challenges facing those with mixed or complex identities. So many people can't know how the world, even family, is going to treat them at any given moment and it's exhausting. Some of us are fluent in two or more cultures that don't feel compatible. Also exhausting. Increasing your own inner resources will help you find you relief in a world that wants labels on everyone.

I work with racial trauma in my practice. I am the child of immigrants and I draw upon my lived experience and professional training to create a safe and healing environment.