THERAPIST. CONSULTANT. EDUCATOR.
THERAPY
FAQs
all therapy is currently virtual
Scroll down to see my answers to frequently asked questions.
What will
Dr. Koo ask me about
in therapy?
If you decide to work with me in therapy, we’ll answer questions like...
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What do you really care about in the big picture, and how can you make realistic changes so you are prioritizing those values?
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What are your patterns and how are they keeping you stuck?
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How have the systems around us influenced your decisions and your life today?
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How have your identities and surrounding mix of cultures influenced how you...
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Feel and show emotions?
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Share the real you with others?
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Interpret the world around you?
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Cope with stress?
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Make life decisions?
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How has your past and your family’s past influenced you today?
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How has fear limited your life?
What communities/areas does Dr. Koo have particular expertise in serving?
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Asian American/Pacific Islander mental health
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BIPOC mental health
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Women’s mental health
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Immigrant experiences and acculturative stress
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Men struggling with anger and emotions
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Interracial/multicultural relationships
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People working in helping professions (e.g., therapists, physicians, teachers, veterans, military personnel, etc.)
How does Dr. Koo consider intersecting social identities, cultural systems, and systemic oppression in her clinical approach?
This is SO important to the therapy I provide. All the services I (and frankly every therapist whether they say it or not) provide are framed through a multicultural lens. I consider the many rich dimensions of identity and systemic social inequities, as well as our shared humanity. In other words, I conceptualize whatever my clients are going through, through the lens of history and this social world of bias, privilege, and power. Historical context is important because in the past “science” was used as a rationale for racially categorizing groups and then oppressing them and privileging white culture. It can be understandable to mistrust science. The way I review and evaluate science today is through the acknowledgment of the subjective lens through which we observe human phenomena, including my own. I also engage in constant self-reflective work on my own subjective lenses to ensure I am doing right by my clients.
There are so many intersecting systems at play that impact how we see the world and ourselves, like colonialism, imperialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, ethnocentrism, capitalism, Islamaphobia, privilege, power, etc. It would be a huge miss if I ignored them.
So, does Dr. Koo work with people with privilege, like white cisgender straight men?
YES, absolutely, but please know we’ll likely talk about it. Because even when one or more of your identities may benefit from privilege, we’ll talk about the costs of those privileges. For example, our society trains men in particular to suppress their emotions. The costs of this “training” could show up in your relationships or how you recover from trauma or stressful experiences, or even how you’ve enjoyed (or not enjoyed) life experiences. It definitely could be impacting mental health.