In a nutshell, you can say that Sil has the mind of a scientist, the eye of a photographer, and the heart of a psychotherapist. 

But here is more about her. 

As a child, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Sil would often reply with a twinkle in her mischievous eyes, "A shrink! Because my patients will be alleviated of their problems as soon as they see me and realize how ‘normal’ they are!" 

Her path in life took a detour when, after graduating from the top high school and entering the top university in Taiwan, she chose to major in Biochemical Science and Technology instead because it was one of the hottest careers at the time (And why not? She had the mind of a scientist after all!).

Sil moved to the US in 2004 for a master's degree in Biotechnology at Columbia University, where she also conducted cancer research and authored a thesis on the etiology, neurobiology, and treatments of schizophrenia, eventually graduating top of her program. With expertise in the field of biochemical and pharmaceutical sciences, she was prepared for a career of helping people from the laboratory, but an unexpected turn of events altered her life during the last semester of her program.  As she strived to make sense of what her loved one was going through by immersing herself in volunteering at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, she rediscovered the joy of connecting with and helping others face-to-face, which rekindled her childhood passion of becoming a psychotherapist.

Fast forward to present day, Sil now maintains a private practice in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. She has also worked as one of the most senior psychotherapists at the Adult Outpatient Services of Maimonides Medical Center's Department of Psychiatry and a DBT skills trainer at the Brooklyn CBT-DBT Team. Having graduated top of her class from her Masters of Social Work program at Yeshiva University with multiple awards and having been appointed as Lecturer at both Columbia University and New York University for the clinical supervision she provides, Sil has gained extensive knowledge and experience in treating a wide range of emotional and psychiatric conditions, from the most severe and persistent forms of suffering to the stress and distress of modern life. 

An avid clinician focused on excellence in client care, she is relentless in enriching her practice via continual integration and adaptation of different schools of therapy--Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), psychodynamic therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and experiential embodiment therapies such as Gestalt Therapy and Internal Family Systems Therapy—with extensive training completed at renowned institutions such as The Gestalt Center, The Couples Institute, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, Behavior Tech, the Milton H. Erickson Foundation, and several other educational organizations. Combined with her expertise in pharmaceutical sciences from her former training as a scientist, Sil is ideally poised for collaborations with other mental health professionals for the betterment of her clients. 

In addition to being a committed lifelong learner, Sil has also lectured to private practice psychotherapists, graduate students, resident psychiatrists, and social work interns on LGBTQ+ affirmative therapy and culturally-responsive clinical practice. She also spoke on the panel of Beyond Binary Identity at Community Healthcare Network's 7th Annual Conference on Transgender Health in 2017. Outside of academia, she has been interviewed by World Journal and The China Press to address mental health issues in the Chinese-American and LGBTQ+ communities, and she has also been featured as an expert in a short documentary called “New York Delirium” where mental health issues in New York City are explored. 

Over the past decade, Sil has helped many of her clients blossom and successfully deal with their anxiety, depression, difficulties adjusting to life transitions, self-esteem and self-identity issues, perfectionism, relationship difficulties, LGBTQ+ concerns, loss of important relationships, parenting concerns, trauma, interpersonal problems, substance abuse, and many other issues. Human resilience in the face of adversities in life never fails to amaze and touch Sil, and she cherishes the honor of being a part of her clients’ journeys of healing and growth.

So, what about the eye of a photographer? Well, aside from her life as a therapist, Sil also fell in love with photography more than a decade ago and worked for a few years as a professional photographer specializing in children, family, and wedding photography. She enjoys seeing and bringing out the beauty in each individual and in the human connections she captures. What she celebrates in her life as a photographer permeates her work as a therapist. 

There you go, a longer version of Sil. If you're interested in getting more information about working with her in therapy, visit Work with Sil. Sil’s specialities include therapy for creatives in Brooklyn, therapy for LGBTQ+ folks, therapy for interracial and queer couples, and therapy for Asian Americans in NYC.