Kun Hong-Lu, LISW
I base my therapeutic work on several optimistic and humanistic assumptions. First, we all have the innate capacity to experience unconditional happiness, peace, compassion, and wisdom. Second, we are all doing the best we can at any given moment, and we all have the need to feel love, acceptance, and a sense of belonging. Third, much of human suffering stems from fear and resistance to our experience of reality in the present moment. Therefore, the cultivation of unconditional acceptance and friendship toward ourselves and life is integral to our experience of inner ease and joy.
I am grateful for Dr. Carl Rogers' clarity regarding the major curative factors for a therapist -- accurate empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. It is within the support and safety of a positive therapeutic relationship that the authentic self and healing emerge. Neuroscience has provided useful information regarding the structure and inner workings of the brain affecting our thoughts, emotions, impulses, and behaviors; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has provided practical strategies for working with these elements. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy has provided useful tools for attending to emotional distress, self-injurious behaviors, and interpersonal conflicts. Taiji, Qi Gong, Aikido and yoga have provided direct experience and conceptual information regarding the impact of body-centered practice on mental, physical and emotional well-being. Finally, mindfulness lies at the heart of my therapeutic approach. Mindfulness, which I understand as spacious and non-judgmental awareness of present moment experience, enables us to make conscious choices and free ourselves from habitual ingrained reactions that instigate suffering.