What was your path to becoming a therapist? What inspired you to choose this profession?
I had worked as a psychiatrist as well as provided individual psychotherapy in Taiwan for more than 10 years. During those years, I also worked as a guest counselor in Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel and the student counseling center of National Taiwan Normal University. As a caring, warm person, I always listen to my clients with a non-judgemental attitude and help them work through their self-doubt, self-criticism, and past trauma.
With enthusiasm for human behavior and relationships, I got my Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University to advance my focus of therapy to couples and families. Helping people learn to communicate in a gentle, constructive way or thrive from a toxic relationship is a rewarding experience for me.
How have your personal experiences helped your work with your clients?
As a daughter, a wife, and a mother of two teenagers, I have abundant life experience which serves my clinical work in dealing with life stage transitions and all kinds of family issues, especially mother-daughter complex, intimacy/infidelity, and parenting. With an Asian cultural background, I also speak fluent Mandarin and Taiwanese, and I am familiar with the challenges the immigration families and multicultural couples may have in the U.S. Incorporating my personal experiences into my profession, I can navigate my clients to change their noneffective patterns and open a new page of their relationship.
What does a typical session with you look like?
I always provide a reliable safe space for my clients who will then feel understood and accepted. I have great patience, and I am attentive to clients’ needs and issues. When clients feel vulnerable and hurt, I comfort them with empathy and unconditional support. When clients feel confused and lost, I help them to analyze their situation calmly. I demonstrate and navigate how to set healthy boundaries and communicate genuinely as a mature individual. Couples also feel comfortable to discuss some sensitive topics in session because they know I am a reliable relationship coach for them. I can help couples to see the bright side of their interactions, facilitating growth within their relationship.
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For more information, please visit www.ingayeh.com
Short Term (Solution-focused, etc.)
Ideal for those who are coming in with a specific problem they’d like to address and gain clarity on. Typically, short term therapies are present focused and do not dive deep into your past.
Structured
Structured therapies are goal and progress oriented. Therapists may incorporate psychoeducation and a specific “curriculum.” In order to stay on track, therapists may provide worksheets and homework.
Insight-oriented (Psychodynamic, Existential, etc.)
Exploring the past and making connections to present issues can help clients gain insight. Getting to the root of the issue and finding deeper self-awareness can help with long-term change.
Non-directive (Humanistic, Person-centered, etc.)
Going with the flow and seeing where it leads.
Behavioral (CBT, DBT, etc.)
Focuses on changing potentially unhealthy or self-destructive behaviors by addressing problematic thought patterns and specific providing coping skills.
Trauma Focused (EMDR, TF-CBT, etc.)
Recognizing the connection between trauma experiences and your emotional and behavioral responses, trauma focused therapy seeks to help you heal from traumas.
