MY APPROACH

“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.”
— bell hooks

No one chooses to suffer. When life makes us shrink away from who we really are, we live in pain.

I strive to support you in feeling the most like yourself and transforming your life into one that is fully lived. My work will prioritize your stories, values, strengths, communities, and ancestral and generational wisdom and resilience. 

You may be ready to talk about your struggles or be hesitant, but wherever you are, I am honored to create a space for your course and story to be told and heard.   

bilingual-Korean-psychologist-counselor-therapist-Dr.+Yun-Garrison+Ph.D.

MORE ABOUT MY APPROACH

Humans are complex.

So, I value being flexible and holistic in my therapy approaches.

My primary therapeutic approach is drawn from Psychodynamic Therapy and Relational Cultural Therapy. Both approaches lay the foundations for how therapeutic relationships are powerful vehicles for change; in such relationships, we build awareness of the deeper roots of your worst and familiar pain.

I intentionally blend these approaches with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). These approaches provide tools for ways in which you can free yourself from being stuck and help us know the difference between what to accept and what to change.

My overall therapy philosophy is guided by Liberation Psychology frameworks. Throughout my practice and reflections, I strive to hold space for exploring how structural issues, such as power, privilege, and interlocking systems of oppression, play a role in your generational and personal expereinces and your ability to live fully and joyfully.  

My work with couples is guided by Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), which emphasizes the fundamental human needs for safety, connection, and attachment in a love relationship.

    • Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of Iowa, USA

    • M.A. in Educational Measurement and Statistics, The University of Iowa, USA

    • M.A. in Psychology, Yonsei University, South Korea

    • B.B.A. in Business Administration, Yonsei University, South Korea

    I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bates College, a highly selective small liberal arts college inMaine.

    I obtained my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Iowa. I completed a doctoral internship at Colorado State University and a postdoctoral residency at Psychology Specialists of Maine. I also received two Master’s degrees: one in Educational Measurement and Statistics from Iowa and another in Psychology at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.

    My college major was Business Administration. After college, I worked in industry and higher education, during which time I gained the courage to change my career. I pursued counseling psychology aligned with my values of compassion, social justice, and creativity. 

    I spent nine years in graduate schools to grow as a critical thinker, empathic witness, and culturally and structurally responsive psychologist. During that time, I met people from different walks of life and those who work toward individual and system-level changes. This experience led me to train in multicultural, critical, and liberation psychology approaches, as human suffering is often caused and prolonged by structural issues.

    • American Psychological Association

    • The Society of Counseling Psychology

    • Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy

    • Asian American Psychological Association

    • Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture

    • Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

    • Korean Psychology Network

    • Licensed Psychologist, State of Maine (PS2385)

    • PSYPACT (Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact) Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT 15040)

  • Please explore About Me.