Hi, this is Yining. I’m a master’s-level counseling intern at Naropa University. And I’m glad to meet you here.

Maybe you’ve gotten really good at doing life.

You’ve learned how to achieve, adapt, think things through, take care of others, and keep moving. Those ways of being may have taken you far, through school, work, career changes, moves across countries or cultures, or the many versions of yourself you’ve had to become along the way. And maybe, somewhere in all that doing, you’ve gotten a little disconnected from yourself.

I have a particular tender spot for recovering overachievers, thinkers, doers, and helpers, probably because I know something about being one myself. I also love working with people navigating immigration and cultural identity, career and life transitions, and academic or work-related burnout. Wherever you are coming from, I’m glad to meet you here. 

In our work together, I hope to support you in connecting with your lived experiences and finding your own ways into a dynamic state of long-term wellness and self-actualization.

We all make sense in context. There can be some unlearning and deconstructing what our environments—our families, cultures, communities, and society—have distilled in us, as well as what we’ve relied on for so long to survive this world. Sometimes, what worked beautifully in one chapter no longer serves us in the next. To me, this is an open invitation to get curious about what has carried you here and what you need now.

In our work together, there may also be experiments. I sometimes think of it as a scientist working with a uniquely sophisticated subject: you. We collect “data” from your physical sensations, emotions, thinking patterns, inner experiences, and all the other pieces that make you who you are. We might learn skills to regulate your nervous system, slow down enough to notice what is happening beneath all that thinking and doing, and explore your inner landscape with curiosity and compassion. 

I hope sitting with me can feel like a soft place to land. My approach is humanistic and person-centered at heart, and I draw from mindfulness, Gestalt, transpersonal/spiritual approaches, and parts work informed by Internal Family Systems. Over time, perhaps we can build greater congruence between who you are, who you aspire to be, and how you show up in the world.

In this unique walk of your life, I’m here to walk alongside you.

Outside the therapist chair, I’m a work in progress, too.

Before becoming a counselor, I spent much of my life in achievement-oriented academic and corporate worlds. I still cherish some of my little labels, “PhD,” “management consultant,” “business executive”, because they encapsulate parts of my life journey and the different versions of myself that brought me here.

I’m also an immigrant and a career changer. I’ve moved across countries and cities with the hope of living a fuller version of myself, and I found my love and community here in Atlanta.

I’m on a spiritual journey of my own, and I love reading, exploring new experiences, and the many ways people make meaning of being alive. I still can’t get enough of soulful conversations.

~

Yining is a masters level intern who is seeing clients as part of her clinical training. We are happy to offer this level of accessibility for clients who are not able to afford our standard rates with licensed clinicians, but please note these sessions are only available for folks who can appropriately be treated by a clinician-in-training. If you require a higher standard of care, we will make a best fit recommendation. Her standard rate for a one-hour therapy session is $50. Align Wellness's sliding scale spots are prioritized for trans and BIPOC clients, and those living in rural areas. Yinings's work at Align Wellness is under the clinical supervision of Melanie Storrusten, LCSW. All clients opting in to see our interns must consent to audio/video recording of sessions as well as direct observation of sessions by the clinical supervisor. If you would prefer not to participate in this type of clinical training, we will refer you to other clinicians.