Laura Tsang, MS, LMFT

Individual Therapy

Professional Experiences in Individual Counseling

It has been a tremendous  joy working with so many individuals.  Helping each of my clients to develop a stronger sense of self, my role is to coach each of them to move forward in their lives and using and recognizing their potential.

Approaches in Working with Individuals

Coming from different ways of life, many clients deal with relational, spiritual, and psychological challenges.  It is important to develop trust in the relationship between clients and therapist.  Many of us do not know what a healthy relationship is.  What does it feel like to be in a healthy relationship?  Many of us may be still searching for and hoping to develop a healthy relationship.  Providing a warm, secure, and supportive relationship with each client is the main focus of my work.  Clients feel comfortable and safe to open up and share their challenges in life.  They are encouraged to express their feelings freely.  Being valued, nurtured, loved and cared for in a healthy working environment, clients are able to motivate themselves.    Throughout the counseling process, clients often become more assertive and confident.

Topics for Individual Counseling

Common topics that clients usually have concern about are included: communication, confidence, career, transition, and relationship.   Depression, anxiety, sexuality, and anger are being seen often in sessions.  

When Do We Need Counseling?

When life seems:

• Lonely...  

• Disconnected with others...

• Difficult in relating to others...

• Lost and hopeless...

• Anxious about anything, everything...

• Makes one nervous in engaging with colleagues, friends, or families...

• Difficult  to make any decisions either with work or personal...

• Difficult to understand one’s own emotions...

• Difficult in expressing my own emotions...

• Difficult in expressing my needs and wants to others...

• Sexually difficult...

Couples Therapy

Professional Experiences in Couple Counseling

Working with couples is one of the most challenging, exciting, and fulfilling aspect of my practice.  It is a dynamic experience.  Seeing couples being able to recognize their concerns and fears throughout the counseling process, they are able to breakdown their baggage from the past and move forward.  Discovering the role and identity often benefits couples to develop intimate and a genuine relationship with each other.  Emotional closeness is highly promoted in sessions.  

Approaches in Working with Couples

Calmness, mindfulness and insightfulness are part of the major elements that are very helpful in all my sessions, especially with couples. There are often much deeper issues underneath the façade.  It is very easy to be caught up and trapped in the he said, she said moments.  My work is to peal each layer of the issues and hopefully reach to the core of the issues instead of treating only the symptoms.  This requires a great amount of trust and openness between the therapist and clients.  Direct and assertive communication is strongly emphasized in sessions.  The ultimate outcome is to create long lasting changes.

Couples often have multiple layers of issues from family of origin and previous relationships.  It is important to help each individual to develop their own identity and understand their sense of direction and meaning in life and become a healthy individual before successfully enhancing their relationship with their significant others?

Topics for Couple Therapy

Couples come in for therapy usually have concerns related to power struggle, communication, parenting, and trust.  Extra-marital affair, sexual desire discrepancy and erectile dysfunction are often seen in sessions. 

Who Needs Counseling?

We’re feeling fine, but the truth is:

• We’re finding it difficult to maintain any meaningful conversation...

• We‘re finding it difficult to carry on any conservation without frustration or argument...

• We’re finding disconnected with one another...

• We’re finding disinterested in one another’s lives...

• We’re unsupported...

• We’re finding running out of topics to talk about...

• We’re not having fun together...

• We’ve stopped laughing together...

• We’re complaining about our relationship...