Soul Matters

I have known Lynn for 4 years and I can't imagine going to any other therapist. She has always made me feel comfortable and always gave me the space to share my thoughts, opinions, and feelings with no judgment. She is super easy to talk to, is a great listener, and makes every session feel like I'm having a conversation with a friend. She is so caring, understanding, and funny, and I just love chatting with her. She always knows the right things to say and asks questions that provoke more insight and self-reflection for me. Sometimes our sessions include chats about church, community, and other Christian beliefs which I truly appreciate too. I couldn't have gone through my tough days without her!

It has been several years since Lynn Min introduced me to the concept of “communion of the self” as a way of integrating the various pieces of oneself into a cohesive whole. The image has been both powerful and transformative for me. Throughout so much of my life I’ve compartmentalized different parts of who I am, so my internal self-image has taken the form of a pie chart: in this section of my life I’m a social services provider; here, I’m a pastor; here, I’m a wife; here, I’m a mother; here, I’m a romance writer; here, I’m a Christian; here, I’m a sophisticated New Yorker; here, I’ve got old-fashioned, small-town girl imprinted on my heart. All of these pieces of myself are true, yet I’ve felt stymied by a sense of internal conflict, and a need to only represent one part of myself at a time. Lynn has helped me understand that to fully realize any of these parts of myself, which all feel integral to who God is calling me to become, I must open myself to realizing all of them. Instead of spending my energy keeping my pie pieces separated, with clear boundaries between my church life and my writing life, for example, I can spend my energy allowing all these integral elements of who I am nurture each other. My ongoing self-awareness and development remain a work in progress, and I am grateful to Lynn for her evocative, healing imagery and eloquent and nuanced understanding of the journey toward spiritual and mental health.

If I were asked about my time and the work I do with Lynn, this is what I would say: A session with Lynn usually starts with me telling her about my week and the ups and downs I faced, and then we dive a bit deeper into the things that I felt more strongly about—the things that affected me emotionally and mentally and the things that made me excited, happy, sad, annoyed, angry, doubtful, and confused among other things. Whatever that week’s issue may be, I always leave each session feeling more love and compassion for myself, with more clarity towards the problem, and, more importantly, feeling seen and heard. I often come in with an issue I have been focusing on for the entire week, and, most of the time, I find that what I thought was the issue was not actually the issue. Lynn will dig deep and help me figure out the root cause. This leads to changes in perspective and increased clarity towards the problem. Lynn guides me and helps me bring out the kinder, more loving and compassionate voice in my head that validates my feelings and empathizes with me. We will discuss and pick apart past events and memories from my childhood and figure out what it was that affected me and that still affects me to this day. From there, I learn to resolve any problems that had been weighing me down. I keep myself accountable for the things I’ve said in sessions by setting intentions for the week and sticking to them. Saying the goals and ideas out loud help to make them real rather than them floating aimlessly in my head. This practice doesn’t just go for my intentions, but for my thoughts and contemplations as well— actualizing them is what helped me with my growth. When I think about how I was before I met Lynn, I realize how far I have come and how much I have changed. Yes, I am still a work in progress, but I have learned to talk to myself more kindly, set personal boundaries, learned to be more intentional, learned to stand up for myself, and have grown to love myself and be happy with who I am. These things were all learned just by sitting on a couch and having a conversation, but they were far more the product of finding the root causes of my issues, changing the voice in my head, not running away from my problems, and putting in the work.

Lynn thank you so so much. You’ve helped me become more and more of the person I want to be, and you’ve made me feel so strong & secure transitioning into my 30s. I can’t thank you enough, I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us! I’m very happy and humbled by this

I realized I needed counseling 2 years ago when I hit a point in my life where I had no idea how to process my thoughts and feelings. It was quite a difficult idea to process because I had recently turned 30 and I thought hitting this milestone would provide me with all the wisdom I needed to be fierce and fabulous. However, it was quite the opposite. It took me 30 years to realize I've been living my life according to other people rules and repressing my own thoughts and voice. When I met Lynn, I felt like she was able to really hear me and also see me. She was able to help me find my inner voice and help it come through all the static. Lynn has helped me recognize my feelings for what they are and to embrace them instead of being ashamed of them. Lynn's capability to empathize and evoke are characteristics which I admire and am truly grateful for.

I was looking for a professional that could help me with dating, families dynamics, and personal development. I hoped for an individual who was also an East Asian woman that grew up in the West with a Christian background. I felt that these similarities would help me build trust and have an easier time sharing my experience. I stayed with you because I loved that you had pink hair, was dressed in confidence, and was punchy - you were loving AND also called out my shit. You are very comfortable with who you are. I think the work you do with me is awaken who I am, and remind me to not settle for less. You encourage me to live boldly and speak my truth with love. Thank you for staying in the trenches with me.

I first came to Lynn for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons was that I wanted to be more self aware. I am typically a passive person— I accept things as they come and do not think too much about them. I never took the time to reflect on my actions and I knew it was not conducive to the life I wanted and the person I wanted to become. I needed to change. A second reason was that I wanted to see how my past affected my present. I wanted to see where my thoughts rooted from. Lastly, I wanted a safe place to vent. I wanted a professional’s opinion on which of my thoughts were healthy and which may have needed correction. When I decided to try therapy, I had a list of potential therapists and contacted each one. Lynn stood out to me the most because I loved her energy, how understanding she was, and her effort to make it work not only for her, but for me as well. I would say our journey together has been smoother than most people can say for themselves and their therapists. I talk to friends who also utilize therapy and hear stories of how they are unsure of their therapists and how they are not growing from their sessions. With Lynn, it is completely different. I love the connection we have, and I trust her completely. When I come in with an issue, she helps me navigate through it and see things more clearly. I put in a lot of work outside of the sessions as well, and I believe this is part of the reason why I have seen so much growth. My transformation has been great. I am proud of myself, and it is all thanks to Lynn. Now that I see things through a new and different lens, I can see the changes in my daily life. She has definitely helped me with my journey to be more self aware. She has helped me change the way I talk to myself. The voice in my head has always been harsh, insecure, and mean, but I can happily say that it is now loving and gentle. My relationship with Lynn exceeded my expectations, and I am so grateful for her and what she has helped me do with my life.

I had never been to therapy, but was aware this had to change after a tumultuous last few years. Leading up to my appointment, anger, sadness, and defeat washed over me—I thought that going to therapy meant I had failed somewhere along the way; that I wasn't strong. But the second Lynn opened the door with a warm smile on her face and invited me to sit on her comfy couch I realized how wrong I had been. She relayed the strength it takes to show up, sit down, and do this. And I am so glad I am doing this. Every session she challenges me to dig deeper into not only the why behind my feelings and actions, but the connection between the two. She validates my truth while simultaneously encouraging me to use a third eye perspective when living this truth; to try to avoid segmenting everything into black and white and embrace the beauty of the complicated gray in which we all exist. Through this journey, Lynn emboldens me to be me and to love myself, even when I find this impossible. She is grounded in authenticity and expresses that the journey toward self love is lifelong. Each session is work, but after every single one I am left feeling lighter, happier, and more prepared for the journey.

In nearly 5 years working with Lynn, I’ve improved my emotional maturity in every part of my life. I’ve come to understand myself — and to love myself more, both pivotal for living a healthy life filled with healthy relationships. What started as premarital counseling evolved into a roadmap of living and experiencing a gratitude-filled life.