Frequently Asked Questions

I specialise in complex relational trauma, usually developmental and generational. You may have had an emotionally inhibited or chaotic upbringing, or been in volatile relationships where you walked on eggshells. You may recognise yourself in terms like adult children of emotionally immature parents and childhood emotional neglect. You may be suffering from chronic depression or anxiety, self-doubt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulty identifying and regulating your emotions, intimacy issues, a sense of worth that's dependent on your productivity, etc.

Complex trauma is multi-faceted; healing will be too.

My approach is pluralistic: a collaborative, integrative perspective deeply rooted in humanistic and person-centred values. We'll discuss what you want from therapy, and together we'll decide how to get there, knowing that we've got many modalities to draw upon and that I'll meet you where you are.

Orientations I integrate and/or am informed by include:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an empirically-based contextual cognitive-behavioural therapy that combines acceptance and mindfulness-based strategies to reduce the influence of fear and avoidance of difficult psychological experiences and to help people identify deeply held personal values and use them to guide meaningful behaviour change

• Bowen Family Systems Theory, a theory of human behaviour that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the unit’s complex interactions

• Internal Family Systems (IFS), a non-pathologising, evidence-based psychotherapy that conceives of every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts led by a core Self

• Motivational Interviewing, a directive, person-centred counselling style for eliciting behaviour change by helping people explore and resolve ambivalence

• Positive Psychology, the science of the conditions and processes that lead to optimal human functioning, focusing on well-being (rather than ill health) and encompassing disciplines such as coaching

• Psychodynamic Therapy, a type of psychotherapy that stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experience in shaping current behaviour

• Relational Life Therapy (RLT), an integrative approach to relationship therapy which incorporates perspectives and skills from systems therapy, feminist therapy, coaching, and current evidence-based modalities, and which helps people first reconnect to themselves and then to their relationships

• Schema Therapy, an integrative therapeutic approach which is informed by developmental and attachment theories; helps people to change deep-seated patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that are based on early life experiences; and integrates techniques across experiential, cognitive, behavioural, and interpersonal realms

• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), a type of humanistic therapy that focuses on people's goals and strengths, and only delves into the past as far as is necessary to understand their concerns

• Trauma-Informed Stabilisation Treatment (TIST), a mindfulness-based trauma treatment which views severe symptoms as indications of trauma-related fragmentation and alienation from self and which integrates ideas and techniques drawn from different models such as IFS, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and cognitive restructuring

Trained in Hong Kong and the UK, bilingual in Chinese (廣東話) and in English, I bring a multicultural, systemic perspective to my work, informed also by my multidisciplinary education, professional experience in the tech and creative industries, and lived experience of complex trauma and recovery.

Our work together can address psychological wounds on cognitive, emotional, behavioural and somatic levels, while recognising cultural and structural factors at play as well. I also understand the overlap between trauma and autism and ADHD, and I know a lot about cults, high-control groups/relationships, coercive control, and narcissistic abuse.

My clients appreciate my sturdiness, playfulness, and psychoeducation with relatable (and sometimes funny!) analogies. Therapy can be more enjoyable than you may think. We're here to reclaim joy and play too.

Last updated: Thu 13 Nov 2025

I only see a few clients a day, with plenty of time for breaks between clients. My main clinic hours are:

• Monday: Afternoon and early evening

• Tuesday: Late morning (online only), afternoon, and evening

• Wednesday: Afternoon and evening

• Thursday: Late morning, afternoon, and evening

• Friday: Late morning and afternoon

• Saturday: TBC

I have additional availability for single-session/one-at-a-time therapy, short-term work, and reasonable rescheduling needs.

Please note that weeknight and weekend appointments are charged a premium (see the FAQ on fees), and I tend to see clients with complex needs during the weekday only.

I sometimes bring a medium-sized, well-trained dog to work. If you're not okay with that, it may limit the appointment slots I can allocate you.

I don't typically offer anything earlier than a 10:30 start. Sorry, morning people.

My standard fees range from £100 to £140 per hour-long appointment depending on your income and when we work:

• Weekday: £100 if your gross annual income is up to £49k; £140 if it is £90k+; £115 if it is somewhere in between

• Weeknight (17:00 onwards) or weekend: £115 if your gross annual income is under £90k; £140 if it is £90k+

(Why £49k? That's the median annual earnings for full-time employees in London in 2024.)

While many therapists do 50-minute appointments, my standard appointments are an hour long, which includes 55 minutes of session time plus a 5-minute buffer to account for time spent going up to the therapy room and settling in. I also do extended appointments, such as 1.5-hour ones, charged pro rata. I only do extended appointments if we work on a less-than-weekly basis.

My fees are set to enable me to:

• run a Central London-based private practice without becoming yet another burned-out, well-intentioned but ultimately not-so-effective therapist;

• adopt an optimal workload (both overall and on a daily basis) and rhythm (plenty of breaks and no back-to-back clients with only 10 minutes in between), so that I can be fully present and prepared for every session and give you the consistently high level of service you deserve;

• engage in more quality training and supervision than the minimum required, so that I am always learning what I need to work better with you;

• offer concessions to those who may not otherwise be able to access therapy (about a third of my caseload are on some form of concession); and

• take care of myself and live my values, which include everyone getting compensated fairly for their labour (emotional labour is not free), knowledge, skills, and experience. (I recognise that the current economic system is such that many people, myself included, are underpaid, and that I do have to balance that reality with the change I want to see and embody.)

I know from personal experience that getting appropriate, high-quality therapy earlier would've saved me years of suffering, and that with the right help, meaningful change can happen in a shorter amount of time than you may think. I also know as an East Asian, neurodivergent, queer, immigrant woman that there's a segment of the population for whom the barriers to good therapy go way beyond finances.

If my website resonates with you but the fees are a concern, please know that I may have a concessionary spot available* and that it's also worth considering budgeting for just a few months of weekly sessions. A small chunk of meaningful work is valuable too, and I've had many clients make tangible progress within a few months.

* All concessionary spots are filled as of November 2025. Feel free to check back for updates, or get in touch to get on the waitlist.

The answer below is for weekly therapy only. Fortnightly therapy comes with different terms, which we will discuss. (If you're an existing client, please refer to our therapy agreement and any other amendments we might have made during our work.)

As a therapist in solo private practice, I rely on getting paid for appointments. Instead of raising my standard fees further to account for lost revenues associated with missed appointments, I have designed the following policies to be as fair and reasonable to both of us as possible.

Here is my standard cancellations policy:

• At least seven days’ notice: No charge (because realistically this is the minimum amount of advance notice for the appointment slot to be used for another purpose and not go to waste)

• At least 48 hours’ notice: Half fee (because this amount of notice usually still means that I'm absorbing half the lost fee)

• Less than 48 hours’ notice: Full fee (because this little notice really doesn't do much practically)

If you have a chronic illness or any other legitimate reasons to require more flexibility, we can discuss and see if we can come to an arrangement that works for both of us. For genuine emergencies and illness, I use my discretion.

You're welcome to reschedule (or move from in-person to Zoom) in order to avoid the cancellation fee. Rescheduling is subject to my availability, and the rescheduled appointment should happen the same week (or within 7 days). I try my best to accommodate, and it is often possible to reschedule with at least a Zoom session. Payment is still due by the original appointment date.

If you are going to be absent for two appointments or more within an eight-week period, we will need to discuss this in advance. Please provide at least four weeks' notice of any holiday arrangements; I will do the same. You may be charged your usual fee from the third absence onwards to keep your slot.

I would like to emphasise the expectation that our work will be weekly, with cancellations and rescheduling being occasional occurrences. If, for whatever reason, it is not feasible (or necessary) for you attend therapy on a weekly basis and at the designated appointment time, we can re-negotiate and find a different arrangement. I reserve the right to take back a weekly slot that is not getting sufficiently used.

There may be occasions when I need to cancel or reschedule an appointment due to illness, training, or other personal matters. I will give you as much notice as possible. If we are unable to reschedule and need to cancel, you will not be charged (and will be refunded, if you have already paid).

My therapy room is in King's Cross (London WC1X). It is my own office within a serviced office building that's a 6-minute walk from the King's Cross rail station, is wheelchair-accessible, has air-conditioning, and has a staffed reception area during standard office hours.

Yes, at least to start. Weekly sessions seem to be pretty effective in helping us build a therapeutic alliance and getting things going.

And while everyone is different, it's not unusual for people to come to therapy at a time when weekly therapy is closer to the right dose of support they need.

Being a therapist is also a bit like reading 10 books at the same time and still keeping track of all the different plots and characters. I'm pretty good at that, but I know my limits. It's more doable if a new book is more like part of a series that I'm already somewhat familiar with. Please give me a chance to finish book #1 with less interruption first. 😂

On a practical note, less-than-weekly therapy comes with a set of scheduling difficulties, and I don't offer it regularly. I do sometimes transition clients from weekly to fortnightly work, subject to suitability, scheduling availability, and agreement to a stricter cancellation/holiday policy.

I'm usually able to work with that restriction provided that it is still possible for us to schedule the next two months' worth of sessions in advance.

Please note, however, that there is a realistic limit to the number of clients with such needs that I can accommodate. This means that depending on my caseload at the time, I may or may not be able to take you on, and there may be a waitlist.

I have a MedicAir air purifier in the room, and I'm happy to wear a FFP2 mask. There is also a window in the room that I can open, if you'd like a bit more ventilation.

That depends on a number of factors, such as:

• the laws and regulations concerning therapy in your country (for example, if you're in the US, I cannot offer you therapy);

• the time difference between us; and

• the severity of your psychological distress and level of risk.

I tend to work with non-UK clients on coaching only. My style of therapy also seems to work better in person, and it's also my preference for therapy work.

Feel free to get in touch, and we can discuss.