Frequently Asked Questions

I specialise in complex relational trauma, usually developmental and generational. You may have endured relationships or environments that are chaotic, high-demand, high-control, or emotionally inhibited. 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 know a lot about cults, high-control groups/relationships, coercive control, and narcissistic abuse. I continue to read widely in the humanities.

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: 11 Jan 2026

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

• Monday–Thursday: Morning (online only), afternoon, and evening

• Friday: Morning (online only) and afternoon

• Saturday: Morning and early afternoon

• Sunday: Usually available online only and only for one-off rescheduling needs

From 2026 onwards, in-person therapy will become a hybrid of mostly in-person and occasionally online, as I will need to work remotely when I am out of the country for a few weeks every few months. During those weeks, I will only be available between 7am and 2pm UK time, but with additional Saturday and Sunday availability. We can discuss more during our initial consultation if that's a concern to you.

I tend to see clients with complex needs during the weekday only. (2026 update: Given my need to be out of the country semi-regularly and a small likelihood of that happening on short notice, I may not be able to take on clients at high risk of self-harm.)

I sometimes bring this medium-sized, well-trained dog to work:

If you're not okay with that, it may limit the appointment slots I can allocate you.

My standard fee for weekly therapy is £95–£150 per hour-long appointment:

• £95 if your gross annual income is up to £47k and you only want online therapy

• £110 if your gross annual income is up to £85k or if you want in-person therapy

• £130–£150 if your gross annual income is £85k+

• £150 if you're an international (non-UK) client

New pricing for fortnightly and monthly therapy to come in January 2026. Yes, it'll cost more than weekly therapy.

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 offer extended appointments, such as 1.5-hour ones, charged pro rata.

My fees are set to enable me to:

• sustain a full-time private practice in London with the many overheads, including a physical office in Central London that's wheelchair-accessible and has a number of features that facilitate therapeutic work (about £20 of the fee goes to rent alone);

• take on an optimal caseload, so that you don't get yet another burned-out therapist with compromised effectiveness despite good intentions;

• adopt a realistic rhythm, with plenty of breaks throughout the day, so that I can be fully present and prepared for every session;

• 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;

• account for revenue fluctuation (due to client cancellations/holidays), taxes, sick days, and all the other employee benefits that I do not have;

• take care of myself and my international family, so that I don't require you to meet my needs except in this one very explicit, very limited way: paying a fee; and

• live my values, among which are valuing one's well-being as well as 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 I strive to balance that reality with the change I want to see and embody).

I know from personal experience as an East Asian, internationally educated, neurodivergent, queer person that getting appropriate therapy earlier would've saved me decades of suffering, and that with the right help, meaningful change can happen in a shorter amount of time than one may think. A year of decent-or-even-unhelpful therapy at a lower fee might end up costing the same monetary amount as half a year of well-suited-for-you therapy at a higher fee. Many of my clients have made some tangible progress within a few months of weekly therapy. You get to decide how much progress is enough at any given time and whether to pause or continue this work.

If allocating funds for therapy only involves diverting them from savings, holidays, non-essential consumption, etc., therapy may still be affordable and a worthwhile investment. (For some people, 'non-essential consumption' may actually include using alcohol, shopping, and other physical things to try to alleviate psychological pain, and that's also what therapy is intended to address.) If you are struggling financially and your physical, essential needs are not being met sufficiently, then what you need most right now is likely not therapy, and it's okay to tend to that first. I'm well aware of the existence of many real problems that aren't therapy problems.

There are low-cost therapy providers who are able to, for various reasons that don't apply to me at present, charge you very little. For example, there are services that use trainees who aren't getting paid at all. There are therapists who only work as therapists part-time and have a main job for income (and other benefits and paid leave). There are therapists who are partnered with someone high-earning, come from generational wealth, or have acquired enough wealth from their previous career. There are therapists who (can) work a lot, who (can) see clients back to back with only 10 minutes between sessions, whose circumstances and needs are simply different from mine. You're welcome to go to them instead of to me, especially if you believe that what's on offer is the same.

* All concessionary spots are filled as of November 2025, and due to changes in my own circumstances, I am unable to take on new clients who require concessions.

The answer below is for weekly therapy only. Anything less than weekly 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 full-time 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 doesn't do anything 99% of the time)

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 to 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 (180-186 King's Cross Road, London WC1X). It is my own office within a serviced office building called LentaSpace, which is 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 hence financial considerations, 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. With clients with ADHD, we've had great success working on a fortnightly basis with a 1.5-hour appointment each time. This arrangement seems to allow for an optimal amount of time to process things both within and between sessions.

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 am conscious of airborne illnesses and have a MedicAir air purifier in the room. I'm also happy to wear a FFP2 mask during our session. 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.