The Korean American Experience
Korean American–affirming therapy provides space to explore identity, family, and belonging while navigating the balance between cultures. Together, we’ll honor your heritage and individuality — making room for self-understanding, healing, and growth on your own terms.
Honoring Heritage, Embracing Self
For many Korean Americans, identity is a balancing act. The Korean American experience is shaped by a blend of collectivist and individualist values — community, family reputation, and respect for authority often coexist with Western ideas of independence and self-expression.
Many Korean Americans navigate a space “in between,” balancing cultural pride with the pressure to assimilate. This can bring both richness and tension, especially when it comes to identity, communication, and emotional expression.
For many first- and second-generation Korean Americans (myself included!), these dynamics often show up in therapy as struggles with boundaries, guilt, or feeling “not enough” in either culture. Unspoken expectations around success, emotional restraint, or caretaking can deeply affect our mental and emotional health. In therapy, we work to understand these cultural layers — honoring both heritage and individuality while redefining what belonging means on your own terms.
Who Am I Between Cultures?
I understand firsthand that growing up between cultures can be both grounding and confusing — a constant dance between connection and expectation. For many of us, it can feel like we’re always navigating two (or more) worlds: honoring family values and cultural roots while trying to define who we are as individuals.
This experience can show up in many ways — pressure to achieve or not disappoint your parents, guilt around setting boundaries, difficulty expressing emotion, or feeling “too Korean” in one space and “too American” in another. These experiences can shape our sense of identity, belonging, and self-worth — especially for Korean American and other bicultural individuals — in subtle but powerful ways.
In therapy, we can explore how your cultural background, family system, and personal experiences intersect to shape your current relationships, stress, and self-view. I bring both professional training and personal understanding to this work, creating space for you to reflect openly — without fear of judgment or the need to translate your experience.
You deserve a space where all of your identities — cultural, personal, and generational — are honored and understood. I provide culturally responsive therapy for Korean American and Asian American adults across Texas, including Dallas, Plano, and surrounding areas. Virtual sessions are available statewide.
You don’t have to face this alone. Let’s start your exploration together.