Breaking Barriers, Building Boldness
Working with The Bad Asian Therapist
Sick of be an Anxious, Scared Good Asian?
Breaking free from Good Asian Upbringing might feel foreign, even impossible.
That’s okay.
You don’t have to climb this mountain alone.
I’m Alex, The Bad Asian Therapist
When you work with me, we’re not just talking about navigating cultural expectations—we’re dismantling them.
I get it. I’ve lived it.
I’ve felt the crushing weight of never feeling good enough. I know what it’s like to measure your worth by impossible standards of perfection while battling a relentless inner critic. It’s exhausting.
And there’s a better way.
Here’s the truth they don’t tell you about therapy with me—I’m not your "good Asian therapist."
I don’t sit in silence nodding while you unload. I don’t just empathize without pushing back.
Nope.
I’m the therapist who challenges you to face head-on what you’ve been avoiding your entire life.
I get real, I get bold, and I keep you accountable, not because change is easy, but because it’s necessary.
What Can You Expect During Therapy?
Working with me isn’t about “fixing” you.
We unlearn the habits that kept you safe but stuck—and rebuild the core skills you were never taught: how to speak up, stand firm, self-soothe, and self-trust.
We don’t just talk—we practice:
Saying no without guilt
Asking for what you need without apology
Facing conflict without shutting down or exploding
Feeling emotions in real time—not just after they’ve boiled over
Holding boundaries even when it feels uncomfortable
This is therapy that helps you stop performing and start belonging—to yourself and to others.
What Makes This Different:
🔥 Culturally Fluent + Action-Oriented
I know the specific shame scripts, silent rules, and success traps of the Good Asian Upbringing—and I show you how to rewrite them.
🧠 We Don’t Stay Stuck in Your Head
We don’t just talk about your stress—we track how it lives in your body.
You’ll learn how to spot when you’re bracing for impact, shrinking to avoid conflict, or going numb to survive discomfort.
You’ll start sleeping better because your body’s no longer in a constant state of fight-or-flight.
You’ll speak up more easily, recover from overwhelm faster, and stop rehearsing conversations in your head for days.
That means finally falling asleep without replaying a conversation, asking for clarity without spiraling, and bouncing back from a hard day without collapsing.
🧭 Present-Focused, Pattern-Breaking Work
We identify exactly where your childhood scripts are still calling the shots—like going quiet when someone’s upset or overcommitting to prove you’re “good.”
Then we practice the opposite: speaking up mid-conflict, letting others feel disappointed without crumbling, and staying rooted in what matters to you—not just what keeps others comfortable.
Clients often realize they’re no longer bracing for blowback every time they assert themselves—and that they’re leading conversations and relationships with more ease, self-respect, and emotional clarity.
🤝 Relational and Real, Not Robotic
I show up as a real human—honest, caring, and unafraid to challenge you. You don’t have to perform for me.
🧩 Beyond Talk: Tools That Lead to Change
We use targeted, research-backed methods that shift how you respond under pressure:
Parts Work:
You’ll learn to work with your inner critic, people-pleaser, and perfectionist—not silence them, but shift their role.
This helps you stop self-sabotaging in key moments, like finally sending the text, speaking up in meetings, or holding a boundary that actually sticks.
Somatic Therapy:
You’ll start recognizing when your body is saying “too much”—and actually listen.
That means staying present in hard conversations instead of zoning out, calming yourself without collapsing, and ending the day with energy left to enjoy your life—not just recover from it.
Brainspotting:
We target emotional pain that’s stuck in your body—grief, rage, shame—so it no longer hijacks your reactions or gets triggered out of nowhere.
Clients often say, "I didn’t know that was still in me—now I’m not just lighter, I’m responding like the version of me I’ve wanted to be for years."
These shifts ripple into everything: how you show up with your partner, how you ask for what you want, and how you hold your ground under pressure.
Here’s What Starts to Change:
You stop shrinking yourself to keep the peace
You stop overworking to prove your worth
You start feeling safe in your own body and mind
You build real confidence—not the kind that comes from praise, but from self-trust
You show up to relationships with clarity, boundaries, and presence
You recover faster from stress and don’t spiral as long when things go wrong
You stop dreading family visits and start choosing how much access people get to you
You don’t just “feel better.” You become the kind of person who:
Speaks up without spiraling
Sleeps without replaying arguments
Navigates your parents, your partner, and your boss with more self-respect, not just survival