About Me
Are you experiencing chronic stress, low mood, excessive worries, or having a negative view of yourself? Are you feeling stuck in a particular area of your life? Are you navigating a significant life transition, such as starting something new or losing something or someone you love? Or perhaps are seeking for deeper self-understanding and self-development?
When we are handling challenges in life, speaking to a trained counsellor or psychotherapist can be a valuable source of support. As an experienced and accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, I am here to provide support for your journey to healing, recovery, and self-discovery.
Started working with clients in 2015, I am an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I have substantial experiences in working with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and loss and bereavement. I also have experience in working with clients with personality 'disorders'. Having been a student counsellor at university, I am particularly experienced in working with university students.
I offer sessions in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
My
Approach
My approach to therapy is rooted in psychodynamic and humanistic traditions. My work with you will emphasise the meaning of 'symptoms', emotion and attachment, and understanding the impact of your past on your present life. My belief in the individuals' innate tendency for growth and positive change means that I will help you to find the strength within you to cope with the difficulties you are experiencing.
The meaning of 'symptoms'
I see 'symptoms' as a means of communication. They tell us that something in our lives needs our attention. Therefore, to recover from the 'symptoms' we are struggling with, we need to listen to what they are communicating to us. I will help you to understand the deeper meaning underneath your symptoms, which can enable and empower you to make changes.
Emotion and attachment
I regard emotion regulation as paramount in our psychological wellbeing. A good emotion regulation capacity allows us to notice and reflect on our feelings. We can be guided by our emotions and choose our actions depending on the context. This capacity is initially learnt in our early interaction with our caregivers. Sometimes we learn problematic ways of relating to others from our early attachment with our caregivers that later repeat in our adult relationships. I see my task as a counsellor as helping you enhance emotional intelligence, which is enabled by a therapeutic relationship in which you can develop awareness, acceptance, and understanding of your feelings.
Understanding impact of the past
Often our current difficulties have their roots in the past. Problems emerge when we stick to our old ways of coping. In your work with me, you might find yourself looking back at your past and developing understanding of how your current struggles might be shaped by your past experiences. You can also experiment ways of relating in the therapeutic relationship that are different from how you relate to others in the past. These can allow you to develop new and more adaptive way of managing challenges in life.
My therapeutic style
In the sessions, I am an active listener.
I will listen to you with warmth, openness and without judgement, seeking to understand you from your perspective. I will aim at providing a confidential and safe environment in which you can explore your thoughts and feelings which can help to reach greater self-understanding and expand your options.
Meanwhile, being an active participant in the therapeutic relationship, I will ask questions and sometime I may challenge you gently or offer my thoughts on your situation to offer you an opportunity to look at your situation from a different angle.
Supporting counsellors and psychotherapists in training
Having been a lecturer in counselling psychology, a tutor in counselling and psychotherapy training courses, and a trainee in a professional doctorate programme, I have in-depth understanding of the struggles, challenges as well as enrichment involved in the journey of becoming a qualified counsellor or psychotherapists and a counselling and psychotherapy researcher.
I am passionate about supporting trainee counsellors' and psychotherapists' personal and professional development. I offer support sessions to trainees.
My Qualifications
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Doctor of Psychotherapy and Counselling (The University of Edinburgh)
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MSc in Counselling Studies (The University of Edinburgh)
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Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (The University of Edinburgh)
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Certificate in Counselling Studies (The University of Edinburgh)
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Certificate in Group Analysis (Institute of Group Analysis Oxford)
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Emotion-Focused Therapy Level 1 & 2 (University of Strathclyde)
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Certificate in Psychopathology (Confer)
Publications
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Liu, Y. (2023). Giving birth to the unborn: processing the experience of sibling abortion and transgenerational trauma in Groups. Group Analysis, 56(2), 172–186. doi.org/10.1177/05333164221150424
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Liu, Y. (2021). Monological telling in the dialogical self. In H. Hermans, C. Moneres, and C. Weise (Eds) Dialogicality. Personal, local and planetary dialogue in education, health citizenship and research. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Dialogical Self, Barcelona (online), Jun. 2021. International Society for Dialogical Science.
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Liu, Y. (2020) Writing Lived Experience – A Melancholy Elegy. Language and Psychoanalysis, 9(1), pp.1-13. https://doi.org/10.7565/landp.v9i1.1704
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Liu, Y. (2020) Speaking the unspoken and unspeakable: Living with the aftermath of sibling abortion under china's one-child policy. In Hannes, K., Falzon, R., Benozzo, A., Gemignani, M., Issari, P., Taylor, C.A. & Wyatt, J. (Eds) Proceedings of the 4th European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Malta, February 2020. European Network Qualitative Inquiry.
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Liu. Y (2019) Sky seen through trees: rethinking narrative coherence in counselling and psychotherapy. Doctorate thesis.