Shannon Chien, LMFT

Quote: “I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.” Amy Tan (Saving Fish From Drowning)

Who Am I?

Hi there! My name is Shannon Chien (she/hers).

I  am a licensed marriage and family therapist that is invested in relationships. No matter if they are your relationships with others or that crucial relationship with yourself, I hope to be a part of honing in on authenticity as the key to growth. Whether you’re bringing in members of your chosen family, navigating the treacherous waters of love, or just a kid with some big emotions, I can’t wait to develop concrete tools with your expertise to tackle the web of events that brought you in. Just a heads up, I will always be happy to see you :)

I love working with…

• Children and teens that “want to talk to someone”

• Parents at all stages of parenthood

• Families that are reconfiguring what it means to get along

• Couples attempting to secure the elusive “communication”

• Neurodiverse relationship systems

• The spectrum of substance use, sobriety, and sober-curious

• Asian/Asian American folks dissecting immigrant parenting, intergenerational trauma, and the model minority myth

Some of my favorite approaches include: 

So for the therapeutically-savvy friends out there, I have received formal training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Havening techniques (a trauma modality), and TheraPlay(attachment-based play therapy). A lot of my in-session interventions are experiential activities adapted from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). In layperson terms: I like working with clients to find their rhythm with myself and each other, which will often include trying/acting something out in session, or working on reflection questions in between.

How I help

​Client feedback is essential to making clinical progress. It is very important that you feel valued and understood during our meetings, while also safely challenged to try something different. I will frequently check in with everyone present to ensure that our time together is meaningful and productive. Additionally, clients are always held with unconditional positive regard. From our initial appointment to the wrap-up session, you never need to earn “therapist approval” or worry about being judged for your decisions. We are all empowered with the agency to make choices, and my role is to support everyone present to experience alignment with their preferred way of being.

What it’s like in a session with me/ What a typical session is like

If it’s our first meeting, I will make space for you to describe the ins and outs of what brought you in. I love listening to clients infodumping, and for those that don’t really know where to begin, I am more than happy to ask leading questions based on your intake questionnaire. After the intake session, I come to each meeting prepared with a relevant activity or exploratory questions. Whether or not we get to the activity doesn’t matter as long as you were able to address the items that were important to you that week. I will periodically touch base about how therapy is going for you to ensure that our time together is meeting your needs. (Also, please feel free to eat and drink during sessions. For those coming in-person, I always have a full box of snacks that you are welcome to partake in.)

Outside of work/More about me:  

Okay real talk, I am still trying to figure out this whole work-life balance thing, especially as a therapist, parent, and PhD student. When I’m not catching up with friends or FaceTiming my family, you can find me losing the battle to inertia, dreaming about good Korean food, and listening to whatever music my husband is in the mood for. I am an ENFJ, Enneagram 2, and a total Obliger when it comes to expectations. Eventually, I hope to build a sustainable self-care routine that does not require bubble baths, watching a movie, or attending a silent meditation retreat. I look forward to getting to know you!