My style is warm, direct, and honest. I believe the relationship between us matters more than any technique, so we build that first. Without trust, the things that actually need to be said stay unsaid.

Many of my clients come to therapy ready to work. If that's you, don't worry. I won't let you stay comfortable forever. Real growth requires well-designed challenge: not pressure for its own sake, but the right stretch at the right time.

In practice, that means I ask real questions, notice what your body is doing while you talk, and sometimes say out loud the thing no one else has.

For individuals, I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an approach that helps you relate differently to difficult thoughts and emotions while moving toward what matters to you. I also work with Gestalt therapy, which focuses on what is happening here and now, in your body and in the room, rather than only analyzing the past. For clients working through trauma, I use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence-based therapy that helps the brain reprocess painful memories so they stop feeling like they are happening now.

All of this rests on trauma-informed care: safety and pacing come first, so therapy never repeats the pressure that hurt you. We work with mind, body, and the stories you carry, not just symptoms.

For couples, my approach is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), an attachment-based and evidence-based approach that looks at the emotional pattern underneath the conflict: not who started the fight, but what each partner is really reaching for. I help partners slow down, see that pattern together, and find new ways to reach each other.

You might feel at home here if:

• Old wounds still shape how you love, work, or rest, and you're ready to look at them

• Your mind works differently, whether or not you have a name for it yet, and you're tired of being told to just try harder

• You live between two cultures or two languages, and you're tired of explaining the context before you can even get to the feeling

• You want a therapist who is warm but won't just nod along

And one honest note: as a solo virtual practice, I'm not able to provide crisis services or in-person care. If that's what you need right now, I'm glad to help you find the right resource.

Specialized Training

EMDR Basic Training, Weekend 1 (2026)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship for Couples (2026)

Education

University of Iowa
PhD in Counseling Psychology (2024)
MA in Educational Measurement and Statistics (2024)

University of Denver
MA in Counseling Psychology (2018)

Handong Global University
Dual Degree in Psychology and Korean Law (2016)

Before private practice, I trained across university counseling centers, community mental health, addiction recovery, career development, and rehabilitation settings, in Korea, Singapore, and across the United States.

• 2025–present PADO Psychological Wellness, PLLC, Seattle: Founder & Licensed Psychologist

• 2024–2025 Interconnection Healing Center, Seattle: Postdoctoral Therapist

• 2023–2024 CAPS, California State University Long Beach: Pre-doctoral Intern

• 2022–2023 Student Health and Wellness Center, Grinnell College: Practicum Counselor

• 2021–2022 Women's Resource & Action Center, University of Iowa: Practicum Counselor

• 2020–2021 Pomerantz Career Center, University of Iowa: Practicum Counselor

• 2019–2020 University Counseling Service, University of Iowa: Practicum Counselor

• 2018–2020 Project H.O.P.E., University of Iowa: Graduate Assistant

• 2017–2018 Salvation Army Harbor Light, Denver: Intern Counselor

• 2016-2017 Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, Denver: Practicum Counselor

• 2014–2015 Career Coaching Company Paul & Mark, Seoul: Facilitator

• 2013–2014 Simei Rehabilitation Care Centre, Singapore: Intern Counselor