Counseling & Psychotherapy
Improve your mental health and well-being to start enjoying life, work, and relationships again with help from our experienced mental health professionals.
Fix a problem, resolve a specific issue, identify recurring issues, develop healthy patterns, and make long-lasting positive changes.
Our experienced counselors and psychotherapists are ready to help you, in English or Japanese, in-person or online with Zoom.
Do you need counseling or psychotherapy?
Your thoughts and feelings matter
We all too often trivialize or put aside our concerns, thoughts, and feelings because other matters seem more important, life is too busy, or we’re focused on helping others. Over time, what we’ve bottled-up inside can start to overwhelm us and surface as symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, irritability. etc.
You Are Not Alone
About 1 in 5 people live with a mental health condition. The thoughts and feelings you are experiencing are part of our common, human experience. You do not need to suffer alone or in silence. There is no shame in seeking help.
Start by Talking to a Counselor or Psychotherapist
You can start by talking to a counselor about anything that is bothering you. Psychotherapists are trained and skilled at listening to you and your stories, and helping you gain meaning and understanding about the inner and outer struggles you’re enduring. Working together, you will identify the issues troubling you, develop a treatment plan to manage them.
A Specific Treatment Example
One month ago, Emily broke up with her boyfriend of two years. Since then, she has been experiencing insomnia, loss of appetite, and depressive moods. Recently, after her boss pointed out a mistake at work, she felt overwhelmed and her friend recommended our therapy.
Sessions 1–2: Intake and Initial Exploration
During the initial intake, Emily shared details about her background, family structure (eldest daughter), and childhood experiences. One significant traumatic memory emerged: as a child, due to her father’s job, they frequently moved, which resulted in her not having stable friendships. She recalled an incident during a school trip where no one wanted to hold hands with her, and eventually, one of the other children reluctantly walked with her out of pity. This memory, reflecting a deep sense of isolation, contributed to her low self-esteem and anxiety.
Sessions 3–9: Psychodynamic Talk Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Psychodynamic Talk Therapy:
Through psychodynamic therapy, Emily started becoming aware of unconscious patterns influencing her emotions and behaviors. Some insights she gained include:
1. Emily realized that at 38, she felt a societal pressure to be married, and had internalized the belief that “there’s no one left for me.” This form of black-and-white thinking led her to catastrophize about her future.
2. She often engaged in self-critical thoughts, asking herself, “Couldn’t I have done things differently?” which further deepened her feelings of inadequacy and self-blame.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):
CBT was introduced to help Emily challenge these rigid thought patterns and replace them with more flexible, adaptive ways of thinking. This approach helped alleviate her depressive symptoms and anxiety while reinforcing positive behaviors.
For example, Emily initially believed that “I am not attractive” and “I’m destined to be unhappy” after her breakup. These deeply internalized beliefs contributed to her insomnia and heightened anxiety, which in turn led to mistakes at work, perpetuating a vicious cycle of self-doubt.
By sessions 5 to 7, Emily began to recognize the reality of her situation. She recalled instances where she was praised at work, including being sent on international business trips, and being relied on by friends with whom she had enjoyed fun experiences in the past. Gradually, she recognized that her belief of being “unattractive” and “unhappy” was a cognitive distortion.By sessions 7 to 8, she began replacing these negative beliefs with healthier, more positive thoughts, which helped solidify her new perspective.
Inner Child Work:
During session 9, Emily reviewed her life journey and discussed her future goals and self-esteem. This session introduced the concept of her “Inner Child”—the part of her emotional self that still carried the wounds and feelings from her childhood. The focus was on how she could acknowledge, care for, and nurture this Inner Child moving forward, addressing the unresolved emotions from her past.
Session 10: Closing the Process
In the final session, both Emily and her therapist agreed that she had reached the goals they had set at the beginning of therapy. They reviewed the progress made throughout the sessions, celebrating her increased self-awareness and emotional resilience. The session concluded with a formal closure of the therapeutic process, with a sense of mutual understanding and achievement.