Hello, my name is Guanghua (Elizabeth). It is my honor to get to know you and hear your story. I believe each of us has a story to tell. Many times, it is hard for us to embrace and honor our story due to hurt, pain, imperfection, and shame. I struggled with perfectionism for a long time. I found out that it was easier for me to avoid, deny, cover up, and stuff my weakness, pain, and failures to the bottom of my heart. The more I did so, the more I created a distance from my true self. I am not sure whether you have a similar story or not. Indeed, as human, we all suffer in different ways. We felt lonely in our suffering. Sometimes, we feel stuck, hopeless, and powerless to move forward. It became hard for us to share our vulnerability with other people. This created more shame and we felt we were imperfect, deficient, and less than.

However, there is hope in our suffering. We can move forward with self-growth and healing by meeting our hurt and pain with compassion. Like Brene Brownsaid, “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” Many times, it is not easy for us to encounter our vulnerable parts. We might feel scared and might be afraid of experiencing unpleasant emotions again. In therapy, you always have me on your side to support you, hold space for you, and walk through this darkness together. I am here for you and you are not alone in this healing process.

I hope we can work together to have more clarity regarding who we are (being) and learn better and healthier ways to handle what we do and how we respond (doing) through owning our stories and loving ourselves. This is the bravest thing we’ll ever do, according to Brene Brown.

I use different methods for counseling. Most often I use trauma-informed approaches for counseling. I use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Emotion Focus Therapy (EFT) to address belief systems, emotional needs and emotion regulations, and new behaviors. I am a certified facilitator of Prepare-Enrich, which I use very often in couple counseling.

My area of specialty is childhood trauma, low self-esteem and self-worth, codependency, burnout, boundary issues, couple counseling, attachment issues, and emotions work.

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Fun Facts About Me:
favorite color:  blue/green/yellow
favorite drink:  all kinds of tea
favorite food:  a cold dish of clear rice noodles 
favorite store:  Ross, HomeGoods
love languages:  quality time, action of service
hobbies:  walking in the park, gardening, shopping, reading, and listening to music.