Chih-Yun (Eileen) Chiu

What was your path to becoming a therapist? What inspired you to choose this profession?

Growing up in an Asian household, emotional expressiveness was minimum and suppression was viewed as a strength. When I left home to study abroad at a young age, while feeling very grateful to have the privilege of developing my international and multicultural identity, I also experienced many challenges in being able to relate to people and felt overwhelmed by the diversity. This made asking for help and support even more difficult. I experienced ongoing ruminating thoughts and emotions related to impostor’s syndrome, failure, fear, guilt, shame and rejection. I also experienced outright discrimination and microaggression. It was truly a trial and error process that felt very lonely, and isolating. I learned to develop my own toolkit to self-soothe. (Today, I call myself a trained extrovert!). I met peers along the way in similar circumstances whose outcome wasn’t as fortunate. Throughout this journey, one thought persisted through my mind: how can I show up for others during their moments of pain and loneliness? This drive became a source of strength for me to work on myself so I can also be present for others. I believe in healing one another. Hence choosing this profession, and being a support on other's journey, especially those with marginalized identities, felt very natural!

What does success look like in therapy? How will a client know that they are making progress?

“Progress” or “success” in therapy isn’t so black and white. Therapy isn’t a linear process because healing and recovery is an ongoing and active practice that you have to choose, which embodies making mistakes, and experiencing setbacks. I call these moments “progress” and “success” because you are being active in being the most honest you can be with yourself, taking courageous steps to being vulnerable and uncomfortable and making the painstaking and painful adjustments and changes. Habits and patterns take time to build and even longer to dismantle, adjust and rebuild. That being said, it can be helpful to create a treatment plan. We will identify your goals and objectives, and establish a plan (and timeline if you wish) for how to approach in a manageable, measurable, achievable and relevant way. The goal is to be flexible with our treatment plan as it may shift and transform overtime. Ultimately we hope to create a toolkit that will be yours to help you navigate day to day with more moments of intentionality, capability and meaningfulness

If there was one thing you wish people knew about the therapy experience who might be hesitant to try it, what would that be?

There is no “right” way to do therapy, there is no rule book/recipe for living healthy, and there are no quick fixes! As therapists, we use our self and our humanness as a tool to build a genuine connection with our clients to empower clients to build an authentic relationship with themselves, others and the world. It is very normal and valid to feel stressed, nervous and anxious going into therapy. There is no expectation to perform in any type of way. Sometimes sessions may feel uncomfortable, distressing and meandering while other times it may feel refreshing, relieving and enlightening. On some days we may feel that there is too much to talk about while other days we may engage in more silence. This is all part of the process. This is an intimate space where we will take our time to build together. I will meet you where you are, and provide gentle encouragement and prompts when you need as well as let you take the lead. You are not alone. Allow me to be a grounding center and place of safety for you and serve as your sidekick on your journey. As therapists, we also engage in therapy to heal our wounds, work through our own biases and assumptions, improve our qualities and capabilities and to better relate to being in our client’s shoes.

Work history

I identify as a AAPI, Taiwanese, first-generation immigrant, multicultural and bilingual Psychotherapist. I have a diverse personal, and academic background in which I have lived, traveled and studied in different countries. This has also reflected in my work values and experience as I learn, grow and contribute to different programs and settings, including in a psychiatric inpatient unit, intensive outpatient setting, and a community clinic. I work with adults, couples, and families from all walks of life, and I am all-inclusive, welcome to all and identity-affirming. I often reflect on my cultural values, biases, and position in power structures and the impact they have on relationships with my clients. I strive to develop and implement culturally appropriate interventions. I have also held different roles, including Clinical Supervisor, Presenter (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and New York University), Advocate, Volunteer, Teacher, Peer Mentor, and Researcher (published on Acute Emotional States and Attachment Styles on Non-Suicidal Self Injury, and Conflict Resolution in Romantic Relationships). With my additional interests in Political Science and Public Policy, I also had the opportunity to work at United Nations Department of Public Information and IMPACT Leadership 21 in which I participated in the empowerment and advocacy for the underserved and underrepresented population. These experiences have helped me learn and understand mental health from different lenses especially with marginalized identities. I hold an Ed.M. in Mental Health Counseling and an M.A. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. I am Narcan certified.