
The Journey Blog
Writings to meet you where you are
When You Are Confused For the Other Asian Person: You Deserve To Be Known
Growing up as an Asian American in Los Angeles, Pasadena, or the Bay Area, it can be a common experience to be confused with another Asian person. Oak and Stone Therapy explores these racial experiences and emphasizes the importance of being fully seen and known.
Finding Your Way with Family Wealth
Growing up with wealth in an Asian American family in Los Angeles, Pasadena, or the Bay Area can bring unique pressures and complexities. Oak and Stone Therapy explores these dynamics and offers support for a healthy relationship with inherited wealth.
How to Set Healthy Boundaries for Asian Americans who Struggle
The conversation around boundaries is everywhere, but often misses a crucial point: true boundary setting isn't about controlling others, it's about defining and enacting your own responses. Many online discussions frame boundaries as demands on others ("You can't do that!"), but what happens when those demands aren't met? At Oak and Stone Therapy, we understand that helpful boundaries empower you to create your own peace and safety, regardless of external reactions. Setting and reinforcing these limits, especially for Asian Americans, is about making conscious choices about how you'll respond to different behaviors, ultimately fostering healthier and more fulfilling relationships. Read on to explore how focusing on internal agency can lead to profound relational shifts.
Being an Empath From an Asian American Family: How to Stay Grounded Without Losing Yourself
Are you an empathic Asian American in Los Angeles, Pasadena, the Bay Area, or Seattle feeling overwhelmed by others' emotions? Oak and Stone Therapy explores the unique experiences of empaths in the Asian American community and offers self-care tips to protect your well-being.
Codependency in Asian American Families: Understanding & Healing
Navigating codependent patterns within Asian American families in Los Angeles, Pasadena, or the Bay Area? Oak and Stone Therapy explores how cultural values can influence these dynamics and offers steps towards healthier, more independent relationships.
When Good Intentions have A HURTFUL IMPACT
Asian therapist Samuel Kim, LMFT #141541 at Oak and Stone Therapy in Los Angeles, California writes about how to navigate situations when good intentions lead to a hurtful impact.
Your First Experience of Love: How Family of Origin Shapes Your Relationships
Our first experiences of love begin at home.
Learn how your early family dynamics shape adult relationships — and how Asian American therapists at Oak and Stone Therapy can help you heal old patterns.
Too Much or Just Misunderstood?
Have you ever been told you're "too much"? Too emotional, too sensitive, too intense? For many Asian Americans and children of immigrants, emotional expression can feel like a liability instead of a strength. But your "too muchness" isn't a flaw — it's an invitation to explore your needs, relational patterns, and voice with more compassion and clarity.
Why Ghosting Isn’t the Easy Way Out—Especially for Asian Americans
Many Asian Americans and children of immigrants in Los Angeles struggle with ghosting — not because we’re heartless, but because we were raised to avoid conflict, suppress emotions, and prioritize harmony. But ghosting can deepen insecurity, delay healing, and damage trust. In this blog, we explore why ghosting is so common in our communities, how cultural upbringing influences it, and what healthier, more honest alternatives look like for expats, creatives, and first-gen professionals navigating dating and relationships.
Why Conflict in Relationships Can Be a Catalyst for Deeper Connection
Conflict is inevitable in close relationships—but it doesn’t have to be destructive. In this post, Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMT 83772 explores how conflict can reveal unmet needs, deepen emotional intimacy, and become a turning point for growth. Learn how to approach relational conflict with greater awareness, accountability, and compassion.
How Trust is Built One Small Act at a Time: An Asian Therapist’s Reflections
Trust isn’t built in one leap—it grows slowly through small, consistent acts over time. In this post, Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMFT 83772 explores how to build trust in relationships with intention, how predictability creates emotional safety, and why trustworthy behavior matters more than perfection. Learn how therapy can help you strengthen emotional intimacy without losing yourself in the process.
The Gift of Presence in Relationships During This Holiday Season
During the holiday season, emotional presence is often more powerful than any material gift. In this post, Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMFT 83772 explores what it means to truly show up in relationships—not just physically, but with emotional honesty and vulnerability. Learn what gets in the way of presence and how to practice deeper connection through practical, therapist-approved strategies.
What Is Fairness in Relationships? Understanding Love, Justice, and Destructive Entitlement
What does fairness really mean in relationships? It’s not about keeping score—it’s about mutual love, responsibility, and emotional reciprocity. In this post, Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMFT 83772 explores how love languages, unspoken expectations, and patterns like destructive entitlement shape the balance of giving and receiving. Learn how therapy can help you heal from relational imbalance and build deeper, more just connections.
Why Trust in Relationships Depends on Predictability: An Asian American Therapist's Perspective
Trust is a cornerstone of healthy relationships, but it's not just built on effort—it's built on consistency. In this post, a trauma-informed Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMFT 83772 explores how predictability creates emotional safety and why even well-intentioned actions can fall short if they’re inconsistent. Learn how therapy can help you rebuild trust, shift relational dynamics, and become the kind of person others feel safe with.
The Healing Power of Mistakes: What Therapy Taught Me About Repairing Relationships
As a trauma-informed therapist, Asian American therapist Hatty J. Lee, LMFT 83772 learned that making mistakes isn’t a sign of failure—it’s an invitation for deeper connection. In both therapy and life, our ability to own our humanness, acknowledge ruptures, and repair relationships is what builds trust and intimacy. Many clients come to therapy carrying the weight of past mistakes—both theirs and others’—that were never resolved. In this post, Hatty explores how perfectionism, shame, and relational wounding show up in our lives and how making room for imperfection can lead to powerful healing.