I have had the opportunity to be involved in helping children and adults inside and outside of the therapy room. In my work with people in residential treatment I experienced how people’s problems affected their everyday life, which has been an important dimension of my work as a therapist.

Leading groups and discussions has been a central part of my professional life. Groups can be incredibly productive and healing because of the energy and power they generate. I have led therapy groups, adoption groups and groups for adoptive parents. I also co-led The Diversity Team and supervised on the Child Group Team at The Brookline Community Mental Health Center. I have presented at conferences about race and adoption issues at places such as Children’s Hospital, Wide Horizons and St. John’s University.

My background as a Korean-born transracial adoptee has fueled my desire to understand better the experience of feeling “different,” whether because of race, adoption status, sexual orientation, medical condition, or other things that lead one to feel outside of the mainstream.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Skidmore College, my Master’s Degree from Simmons School of Social Work and was a post-masters fellow at Children’s Hospital, Boston, doing therapy, and continued in the Emergency Department doing psychiatric evaluations for children and adolescents in crisis.