Yani Huang
She/ Her
Tier I therapist
What has been on your mind may have led you to my page. This might be something you have noticed or want to work on. Something you have been sitting with, maybe for a while. It might feel heavy. It might feel confusing. Or it might just feel like a quiet, persistent pull toward wanting things to be a little different.
Beginning therapy can feel both hopeful and vulnerable, and I want to acknowledge the courage it takes to seek support for yourself. My goal is to create a warm, collaborative, and non-judgmental space where you can feel safe exploring your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and experiences.
In our sessions, I will not rush anything before you feel ready. I know that things might need time to find the words for it, and some feelings need to be circled slowly before they can be touched. I am comfortable with silence, uncertainty, or sitting in the middle of messy things.
What I hope you will feel is that our sessions are a space that is genuinely yours. It is a place where you can say things you haven’t said out loud yet. Where you can be tired, contradictory, or imperfect. Becoming a therapist, I believe that being truly heard and understood can change something in a person.
As a bilingual second-generation immigrant therapist, I help clients explore the intersections of culture, identity, relationships, and emotional well-being.
My Story
My journey of becoming a therapist has been shaped both by personal and professional experiences. As a second-generation immigrant and bilingual individual, I have become deeply aware of how culture, language, identity, and family expectations can influence emotional well-being and relationships. These experiences have strengthened my passion for creating spaces where individuals from diverse backgrounds can feel understood.
Professionally, I have worked in the mental health and developmental disability field for several years, including supporting individuals with autism and developmental differences. These experiences taught me the importance of patience, attunement, and meeting each person where they are. They also deepened my understanding of how early relational experiences, trauma, and systemic factors can shape one’s world. My work is grounded in the belief that healing happens through connection, safety, and human relationships. I feel honored to walk alongside with clients as they navigate identity, relationships, grief, trauma, life transitions, and personal growth.
Therapeutic Approaches
I approach therapy with the belief that healing looks different for everyone. Rather than applying one fixed method, I work collaboratively with clients to understand what feels most supportive, meaningful, and effective for them.
My work is influenced by psychodynamic, person-centered, and attachment-based perspectives, which means I often help explore how past experiences, relationships, and environments may continue to shape the way they see themselves and connect with others today. I believe many emotional patterns develop for important reasons, and therapy can offer a space to understand those patterns with greater compassion.
At the same time, I also incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and trauma-informed approaches to help clients develop emotional awareness and coping skills. Depending on a client’s needs, sessions may focus on processing emotions, exploring relationship dynamics, building self-understanding, or learning more effective ways to manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelming thoughts.
While I take my clients and their experiences seriously, I also think therapy doesn’t always have to feel heavy. When appropriate, I may incorporate humor, creativity, or a sense of playfulness into the therapeutic process. I have found that moments of laughter, curiosity, and spontaneity can help clients feel more connected, lower defensiveness, and create new ways of experiencing themselves and others. Particularly when working with attachment wounds, I believe healing often happens not only through insight, but also through experiencing new relational possibilities within a safe therapeutic relationship.
I view the therapeutic relationship itself as an important part of the healing process. I aim to create a space where clients feel emotionally safe, respected, and genuinely heard. I believe growth often happens through experiencing a relationship where one can show up without fear of judgment.
Specialties
I am particularly interested in working with young adults, multicultural and bilingual individuals, immigrants, and individuals navigating relationship concerns, family dynamics, and life transitions.
My clinical interests include anxiety, depression, self-esteem, attachment concerns, cultural identity, interpersonal relationships, and intergenerational issues. I am passionate about working with people who may feel emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected from themselves, caught between different expectations, or uncertain about how to navigate important changes in their lives. My approach focuses on helping clients increase self-understanding, strengthen emotional awareness, and fulfilling relationships with themselves and others.
Credentials
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Supervisor: Huilin Lai, LCSW: R081942
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Degree: New York University - Master of Arts in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness, NYU Steinhardt (in progress)
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Degree: Hunter College - Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology
More About Me
Outside of therapy, I enjoy watching stand-up comedy and live performances. I appreciate the way humor, storytelling, and art can bring people together and create moments of connection, reflection, and relief. I also love reading literature, especially stories that explore the complexity of human emotions, relationships, and identity.
These interests continue to shape the way I understand people and the importance of empathy, curiosity, and connection. I believe there is something powerful about being able to laugh, feel amazed, and recognize parts of ourselves in the stories of others. One of the things I value most as a therapist is creating a space where clients feel comfortable being fully themselves, not only in moments of pain, but also in moments of joy, humor, growth, and self-discovery.