Connie Yang, LMFT

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the State of California

My Story

I’m a second-generation Korean American, raised by monolingual immigrant parents. From navigating cultural and language barriers, code switching, to not quite feeling American or Korean, I know what it’s like to not feel a strong sense of belonging. Out of fear of being judged poorly by others, unresolved childhood trauma (including the aftermath of the Japanese occupation in Korea and then shortly after, the Korean War), the difficulties that came with immigrating to a country where they didn't speak the dominant language, and shame for not having financially "made it" and achieve the American Dream in the eyes of my relatives—my parents isolated themselves from everyone, including our relatives. I didn’t grow up with a strong sense of community and belonging, and my parents discouraged me to make and sustain friendships while growing up. In short, we were all very lonely, disconnected, and unseen–especially, with each other.

I had a lot of fear growing up in my family. My dad terrified and pressured me to highly achieve in academics, get into a prestigious university, and climb up the socioeconomic ladder. My mom often followed along whatever my dad enforced and would beg me to apologize to my father even if I had no fault. She, too, was also very afraid of him. My sister was afraid of him, too, but she stood her ground as she got older.

Me and unnie on pair of swings - copy.jpg

My sister & me on a pair of swings. I don't know how old I am here.
Maybe 2 years old?

Throughout college and my 20s, that fear stuck with me and affected how I navigated the world: I often didn't speak up especially to authority figures even when I was mistreated; if I forgot about a homework assignment, I freaked out and thought it was going to be the end of my life; I had a hard time saying no to people; and a boss once promised me a promotion for a while, but a junior co-worker got the promotion instead because she spoke up and asked for it and I didn't. I was often depressed, but sometimes, I'd have sudden outbursts of anger that would surprise and confuse me because I had little to no insight on where my anger came from. There was big part of me that, out of defeat, I accepted that I did not matter.

But in 2018, I finally got a taste of what it was like to matter. As cliché as it sounds, I met a therapist who changed my life. He was the kindest, gentlest guy who truly validated a lot of the pain and trauma I suffered from my whole life. He made me feel a lot less alone in my suffering with his presence, his validating facial expressions, and sometimes, his surprisingly firm tone and use of profanity when he fiercely advocated for me. In those moments, it became clearer that I so wanted to be that witness and advocate for others. I realized that healing happens in relationship to one another.

I want you to feel seen, heard, and connected. For all the times that you’ve been invalidated, dismissed, minimized, alone, disconnected, I’ll be here to tell you that you matter. Because I truly believe that.

I believe the right connection is the antidote to a grieving, pained, broken heart: whether you have had unresolved relationship wounds from your family members, you’re grieving a loved one who you had a complicated relationship with, you're too scared to speak up for yourself, or you’re really struggling to find a sense of belonging and connection. Whatever the case may be, I look forward to us working together and imprinting each others’ lives.

What it looks like to work with me & my philosophy

I’ve been told by clients that I am direct, compassionate, playful, and real. I prioritize our relationship and use it as a tool not only for healing, but also to gain insight and self-awareness. I believe productive, meaningful, and long lasting results from therapy require both the client and therapist to show up as their true, authentic selves, even if it’s not the most pleasant thing to do or be at the moment. It would be a shame and missed opportunity to never truly meet each other and not make true contact with one another.

While I don’t share everything about myself, I also don’t hide who I am and have no interest in doing so. I believe that just as much as it's important for me to see clients as human, it’s also important for clients to see that I, too, am human.

I, too, have fucked up.

I, too, have feelings, opinions, and experiences of my own.

I, too, am trying to figure out this thing called life.

It is crucial in our work together to sit with each other as two human beings in order for therapy to "work." I can't promise you that our therapy will "work," but we want to give it the best shot we can to increase our chances for it to work, right?

In our therapy, we will work together on building the skills to advocate for yourself, especially when the world told you to stay quiet and scared. We will work through relationship patterns that has held you back from building true intimacy with others. All the times that you didn't get the closure you needed? We'll work on that, too, among so many other things.

If you value receiving direct feedback, are willing to explore uncomfortable parts of you, are open and curious to discover new parts of you, and also use humor, we may be a good fit. :)

Education & Training

Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with Applied Community Psychology specialization
3 years of Gestalt Associates Training of Los Angeles (GATLA) Weekend Training Program
Brainspotting, Phases 1 & 2
Our House Grief Intensive Training 2026