A Chinese femme person crouches at an outdoor skatepark, laughing as they look to their right. They are wearing a yellow sweater with large green flowers, which matches the green streaks in their hair
Who I Am
I am a non-binary, queer, 1.5-generation Chinese Canadian immigrant settler living on the unceded territories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh peoples (colonially known as Burnaby). I’m also neurodivergent, mad, middle-class, and able-bodied.
Beyond being a counsellor and art therapist, I’m also a parent raising a small human. As an art-maker, I enjoy many creative pursuits, including caring for plants and animals, painting, collaging, cooking, and getting lost in imaginative worlds through video games.
What Informs Me
I was born in Kunming, China, and raised by my grandmother for much of my early childhood. It was during this time that I first explored art-making. My grandmother, a self-taught painter, modeled resilience and healing through her art practice, something I would later come to adopt as my own.
After immigrating to Canada at age 12, my connection to my grandmother and to art grew distant. Much of my energy went toward navigating assimilation, gender questioning, and displacement. Like many third-culture kids, I often felt unseen and misunderstood. Through adolescence and early adulthood, I had to figure out a lot on my own.
Amidst the loneliness, there were also moments of connection, belonging and being seen. Learning to hold space for conflicting feelings has been a central theme in my life. It remains an ongoing process that continues to teach me how to live with honesty toward myself and the world around me.
When I reflect on my path so far, I see that the most meaningful shifts have come through relationships and communities of care. In these spaces, I’ve begun to reclaim parts of myself and make room for growth, My lived experiences continue to inform and guide how I approach therapy and the way I work with others.
An elderly Chinese woman stands on the left side of a smiling Chinese toddler. Both are smiling warmly.
How I Can Support You
I see my work as a therapist and my experience as a human being as deeply interconnected. While my education and training provide a strong foundation, it is my lived experience and inner knowing that most shape how I support those who share space with me.
Throughout my life, the moments that have nourished me most are the ones where I gave myself permission to simply be, allowing all parts of myself to coexist and leaning into the fullness of the experience. In the therapy room, my role is to gently guide you toward reconnecting with your own full spectrum of being.
