Our Team: Yuqing Liu, LMSW

Yuqing Liu, LMSW

I’m Yuqing. We therapists are always talking about honesty and vulnerability so I’m going to offer that.

Sometimes I ask others to call me Yuki, mainly because it’s easier to pronounce. But I do feel more myself when called Yuqing. I often ask myself: why don’t I just stop using Yuki in the first place? I don’t know. Maybe it’s my habit to please people; maybe it’s a way to avoid trouble; maybe it communicates my vulnerability as a first-generation immigrant. So I still use it.

The previous remarks demonstrate what I am always doing: noticing something, noticing my reaction to it, reflecting, and then changing or accepting. I believe most of you reading this go through the same processes as well. I’ve heard some clients describe it as “overthinking but doing nothing.” That’s not accurate, though. Reflections always empower, sooner or later. Acceptance is also a kind of action. This is what I do with my clients in session: reflecting, over and over, deeper and further. We come to understand your current troubles through your history, and so talk about anything that matters to you.

It’s often hard to be totally honest to yourself and another person, but in doing so, you will start to feel freer and more powerful.

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About Yuqing

  • Like many other therapists, I’m a career changer. My bachelor’s degree was in International Relations.

    That was my toughest time. Growing up in a small town in Southwestern China didn’t prepare me at all for this major, or any kind of career development.

    As someone used to excelling in academics, it took me 2 years of International Relations to admit I failed to be a “good student.” Abstract global politics didn’t interest me. Instead, I was moved and empowered by the deep bonds between people.

    But my study in politics was useful, because it lead me to believe we have more in common than not, and that we can share our happiness and our pain.

  • Someone must know I’m not an expert.

    It means, first, that I don’t have all the answers ready for you. In my view this is impossible, because I believe you’re the only expert in your life.

    Second, I’m always learning. I don’t have just one specific style or way of doing therapy. I take an integrated, client-centered approach. Your growth will be my utmost concern in our collaboration, and I’ll draw upon ideas or techniques from different schools of thought. For example, assignments or self-disclosure from me will be offered if we think they’ll be beneficial. I’ll learn and adjust my style based on your feedback (and so your feedback is really important).

    The intake process usually takes 2 sessions to get to know you and see if we connect. You will set the pace from there.

  • My education in social work deeply shaped my values.

    During that program, I had the opportunity to reflect on my identities, for example as a first generation college student, as a first generation immigrant from rural China, as an Asian, as a female, and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. It helped me to see myself as a person in the system, and how the system plays a role in my life.

    Now I identify also as a clinical social worker, more so than a therapist, which is more general and less concerned with systemic issues. Learning about such issues has made me humble and respectful. I believe the best therapy must address the system as well, and we as individuals will be the best agents to communicate and then change the system.

    I completely agree with the core values of social work: service, social justice, the dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.

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