Author: Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I am originally from Taiwan. I received my Master degree in Counseling from Syracuse University and PhD. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Michigan State University. I decided to become a helping professional when I was about 16 years old. When I was in college, I volunteered in the "big brother, big sister" program and that opened the door to the world of psychology. After receiving my Master Degree in Counseling, I went back to Taiwan and started to work with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence victims. Throughout those 6 years, I started to notice the needs to understand the couple and family dynamics to enhance my ability to work with the victims of the family violence. During my doctoral training, I focused my work on understanding the dynamics in the family and couple system and the impact of mental health issues in the couple and family relationship. Now, I am an EMDR certified therapist and have used this method extensively with clients suffered from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression issues. I am also a PREPARE/ENRICH certified therapist and have used this to work with pre-marital couples. I also have completed Gottman Level I & II training and have used this with the couples in distress along with other methods.
Couple, Depression/Anxiety

New Year Resolution 2019: Take Charge of the Change

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT
scrabble resolutions
Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

Now that the Holiday season is coming to the end, most people are at the “the resolution preparation” mode. I certainly feel my 2018 flies by so quickly, especially at the end of 2018. Earlier this year, I made a decision to move my office to a new location. In October, I started to plan the move and in November, I was busy with the move. In December, I am still adjusting to the new office and still trying to put everything to its place.

I certainly have a lot of changes in 2018.

As I reflect this past year and the decision to move, I realized that I had learned something about CHANGE to help with my 2019 planning.

Continue reading “New Year Resolution 2019: Take Charge of the Change” →

Depression/Anxiety, Podcast of the Week

[Podcast of the Week]{12/17/18} 10 Non-Psychological Causes of Anxiety And Depression

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT

pow 121718Anxiety and depression are the two most commonly known mental health issues adults facing in the USA. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40% of the adults 18 years and older suffer from Anxiety, and 6.7%of the U.S. population age 18 and older has Major Depressive disorder.

 

So, anxiety and depression are “mind” problem, right? I engage in meditation, exercise, and yoga to maintain my mental health and have read many articles about how different cardio and breathing activities can help to calm our brain and to help with depression and anxiety. So, is there anything non-psychological related that have a connection with depression and anxiety?

Continue reading “[Podcast of the Week]{12/17/18} 10 Non-Psychological Causes of Anxiety And Depression” →

Couple

Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (II)

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT
woman and man sitting on brown wooden bench
Photo by Vera Arsic on Pexels.com

No matter it’s Chinese, American, or Hispanics, etc.. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the partner by marriage saying: “You made me feel like an outsider;” while the partner who is biologically related to the extended family saying: “I am stuck in the middle between my spouse/partner and my parents.”

 

So, how do you unstuck from this situation? The key is to make your relationship and your spousal relationship as a priority and see your partner’s feelings is yours no matter you agree with him/her.

(The Part I of Surviving the Holiday In-Law Stress is here.)

Continue reading “Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (II)” →

Couple

Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (I)

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT
candle celebration christmas christmas decoration
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I grew up in a big Taiwanese family. My dad has four siblings and my mom has five siblings. I often joked with my friends that the craziness of my family drama trains me to be a good couple’s therapist. Taiwanese is the culture with traditions during holidays. Holidays are the time when all the in-law issues played out. I often saw the fights between my parents because of the in-law dramas.

Continue reading “Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (I)” →

Depression/Anxiety, Podcast of the Week

[Podacst of the Week][12/3/18] Angry? Try Loving Kindness

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT

pow120318Anger is one of the seven innate emotions. (Anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, trust, and joy are seven innate/primary emotions, meaning, not learned). Anger is also commonly seen feelings in the therapy room. Many clients said: “I don’t like myself getting angry.” Many spouses said: “I don’t talk to my partner because he/she gets angry.”

Somehow, we can’t avoid anger because it’s an innate, but we don’t like angry responses because it pushes people and ourselves away.  Continue reading “[Podacst of the Week][12/3/18] Angry? Try Loving Kindness” →

Trauma

[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony and the Myth of “lying about sexual assault ” (part II)

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT

sexual assault myth # 3
(I am sorry this entry becomes this long. Please read the first entry here.)

“Unable to recall the details“

The next paragraph is the first thing caught my eye to believe that her story is true but also used by many people to attach her credibility: lack of details of the events happened before the assault.

I truly wish I could provide detailed answers to all of the questions that have been and will be asked about how I got to the party, where it took place, and so forth. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t remember as much as I would like to. But the details about that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget. They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult. Continue reading “[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony and the Myth of “lying about sexual assault ” (part II)” →

Trauma

[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony and the Myth of “lying about sexual assault ” (part I)

Grace Chen, PhD. LMFT

I was on vacation in Budapest when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. When I woke up that morning, I saw her statement posted on the NPR website. I immediately said to my friend that her story is credible because she displayed the classic symptoms I have seen in all my clients in the past 20 years. That afternoon, we made it back to the hotel room to use the wifi to watch her testimony online.

There are many trauma specialists have pointed out the significance of her testimony in many different ways. Dr. Ford empowered many women who have not yet talked about their sexual trauma in the past. Sadly, many discussions online argued about whether her story was accurate and credible or not. In this article, I wanted to use her statement to point out the symptoms the sexual trauma survivors have experienced and to discuss the arguments of “lies” in the sexual trauma that often added another layer of the wound on the adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Continue reading “[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony and the Myth of “lying about sexual assault ” (part I)” →