How does therapy support Asian American mental health?

Therapy provides a safe space to heal intergenerational trauma, manage career stress, overcome creative blocks, and navigate cultural identity challenges. Services include Brainspotting and EMDR therapy available in Los Angeles, Pasadena, the Bay Area, and across California.

What mental health issues commonly affect Asian American communities?

Common concerns include anxiety, depression, perfectionism, impostor syndrome, family pressures, relationship challenges, and creative blocks. Asian American therapists at Oak and Stone Therapy provide culturally sensitive support using Brainspotting, EMDR, and other healing modalities.

Is culturally sensitive therapy important for BIPOC and children of immigrants?

Yes, culturally sensitive therapy acknowledges racial identity, cultural values, and intergenerational expectations. Our services include Brainspotting and EMDR therapy adapted to the needs of BIPOC and first-generation clients across California.

Who can benefit from Oak and Stone Therapy's blog?

Our blog supports Korean Americans, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino, and other East and South Asian communities, as well as BIPOC individuals and first-generation Americans seeking emotional growth, resilience, and culturally sensitive therapy options like Brainspotting and EMDR.

The Healing Power of Mistakes: What Therapy Taught Me About Repairing Relationships

Relationships

Feb 19

Written By Hatty J. Lee

I’m a Therapist—and I’ve Made Mistakes.

As a licensed therapist, I'm the first to admit it: I’ve made mistakes. As a mother, a partner, a daughter, a friend—and yes, even in the therapy room. Despite years of training to avoid missteps, I’ve realized you can’t take the human out of the therapist. And maybe, we’re not supposed to.

Over the years, I’ve slowly learned to allow space for my humanity in my work and personal life. I’ve practiced:

Apologizing when I get it wrong
Owning my part in a misunderstanding
Not making everything about a client’s “projection”
Repairing ruptures instead of pretending they didn’t happen

These are not just clinical skills—they're acts of courage. Especially for those of us who were never shown how to do this growing up.

Why So Many of Us Struggle with Mistakes and Conflict

Many clients who come to Oak & Stone Therapy have never had someone model what healthy repair looks like. Whether you grew up in a high-pressure household, navigated emotionally immature parents, or internalized perfectionism as survival, you may:

Fear that one mistake will cause abandonment
Feel ashamed when you let someone down
Avoid conflict or get defensive when called out
Expect others to be perfect or disappoint you
Cut people off rather than work through issues

You’re not alone. Unresolved relational ruptures are common—and they can keep us from forming deep, resilient relationships.

Mistakes Are a Pathway to Deeper Connection

The truth is: every relationship has ruptures. The difference between relationships that grow and those that break down is this—can you repair?

As a therapist trained in Brainspotting and an attachment-based therapy called Restoration Therapy, I’ve witnessed the transformational power of repairing ruptures. In fact, for many of my clients, this is the first time someone has shown them it’s safe to be imperfect and still loved.

What’s Your Relationship with Mistakes?

Take a moment and ask yourself:

Can people make mistakes in your relationships and still feel safe?
Can you make mistakes and not spiral into shame?
Are there old ruptures in your past that never got repaired?
Have you ever been punished for being human?

Your answers might show you what you learned about love, safety, and worthiness. But the good news is—those patterns can change.

There Is Room for Mistakes in Healing

At Oak & Stone Therapy, our team of trauma-informed, culturally sensitive therapists specializes in helping clients work through:

Perfectionism and shame
Attachment wounds and relational trauma
Anxiety around conflict and emotional intimacy
Intergenerational trauma
Rupture and repair in therapy and in life

We serve clients across Los Angeles, Pasadena, Orange County, South Bay Torrance, Bay Area San Francisco, Seattle, and Asia, including Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong—offering online therapy for expats, creatives, high achievers, Asian Americans, and those navigating bilingual or bicultural identity.

Ready to Heal Your Relationship With Mistakes?

You deserve relationships where mistakes don’t mean the end. You deserve a connection that’s deepened by honesty, not broken by it.

Book a free consultation with one of our compassionate therapists today. Let's make space for imperfection—and begin your healing journey.

About the Author

Hatty J. Lee, LMFT #53772 (she/her) is an Asian American marriage and family therapist, Brainspotting practitioner, and founder of Oak and Stone Therapy. With over 15 years of experience in community mental health, schools, and private practice, she specializes in Asian American mental health and understands the nuances of ruptures and repairs that happens within intimate relationships, and how therapy can help her clients embrace imperfection and mistakes. Hatty provides therapy at the Los Angeles office, Pasadena office, and virtually throughout California and Seoul, South Korea. You can learn more about her insights on her Instagram and her book The Indwell Guide, a visual storytelling and mental health guide that offers practical tools to support healing and self-discovery.

Asian American TherapyRelationship CounselingAsian Therapist

Hatty J. Lee

Oak & Stone Therapy is a team of Asian American therapists who offers individual, couples, child and teens, and family therapy virtually across California and in-person in Los Angeles and Pasadena, California.

http://www.oakandstonetherapy.com