In what ways do your life philosophy and treatment philosophy overlap?
Coming from an immigrant background, I appreciate and value each individual’s unique background, circumstances, challenges, beliefs and lifestyles. I respect individual’s right to make their life decisions based on the information they receive. Each client is the expert of their own life and due to circumstances and life challenges, we can become confused and doubt our strengths and resources. By empowering my clients and utilizing critical thinking ability, my client and I can work together to challenge irrational thoughts, negative behavioral patterns and explore solutions that fit each individual’s uniqueness.
Are there any recurring themes or issues you’ve noticed as you treat people in your area of specialization, and how has this insight guided your approach?
I value and appreciate the dynamic and the “dance” between each individual in a system. Each individual lives in a system from a micro to a macro level. From a one-on-one relationship to a relationship with the society. The system we are in can bring us support, resources, love, and make us feel safe. Unfortunately, it can also cause negative emotional distress when the “dance” is off balance. Over-emphasis on others’ opinions and judgements are one of the themes I notice with many of my clients. Because of their external locus of control thinking patterns, clients often feel on the fringe of the group, resulting in feelings of powerlessness, devaluation, neglect, and isolation. These negative feelings then lead to further relationship issues and mental illness, most commonly anxiety and depression. I find that empowering clients and helping them to make peace of their uniqueness, their values, and their beliefs, helps them understand the differences between interpersonal and intrapersonal issues and can help them acquire mental harmony and live a more fulfilled life.
If you could pick one movie or book that influenced your approach to therapy, what would it be and why?
The book I will definitely recommend is Victor Frankle’s Man’s Search for Meaning. The book demonstrates the power of our perspective, our inner strength and the value of each individual’s existence. Using Dr. Frankle’s own words to summarize this book, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Specialties
Depression
Depression often causes people to feel sad, empty, or hopeless, and can cause a lack of interest in life. It can also affect a person's thinking patterns and physical health.
Anxiety
Anxiety can mean nervousness, worry, or self-doubt. Anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that entails excessive, repeated bouts of worry, anxiety, and/or fear.
Work Stress
Workplace issues are a common source of stress and can include interpersonal conflict, communication problems, gossip, harassment, discrimination, low motivation and job satisfaction, performance issues, and poor job fit.
Family issues
Familial relationships can be the source of stress and emotional pain, even in the healthiest of situations. Painful interactions can range from irritation to resentment and lead to feelings of guilt, disappointment, and anger.
Trauma
Trauma is the result of experiencing a perceived, extremely distressful event. Although the stress threshold for each person differs, meaning that each person considers and experiences trauma differently, it is an event that tops one’s threshold. It exceeds one’s ability to cope or emotionally process. Symptoms may include shock, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, feeling disconnected, mood swings, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts.
General Expertise
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the degree to which a person feels confident, valuable, and worthy of respect. Feeling low self-esteem can influence overall well-being and be linked to anxiety and/or depression.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by persistent instability in relationships, extreme emotional reactions, and chronic fear of abandonment. People with this may also tend to be moody, experiencing a lot of high highs and low lows.
Addiction
Regular involvement with a substance or activity in a compulsive, hard to control way that often has harmful consequences. Often refers to substance use, but can include compulsive behaviors such as sex, gambling, or shopping.
Anger management
It's normal to experience anger at times, but for some, it becomes so frequent, intense, or difficult to control that it negatively affects their life. Anger management is a structured therapeutic approach toward reducing one’s anger to a point where more appropriate coping and/or conflict management skills are used. Beliefs and thoughts leading toward anger outbursts are explored while healthy coping and interpersonal skills are put into practice.
Attachment issues
Children that experience parents and/or guardians that are avoidant, ambivalent, or resistant from an early age, may develop attachment issues. This can manifest as difficulty forming or maintaining friendships, romantic relationships and empathetic bonds throughout life, as well as other issues.
Fees
$120
First Session
$120
Family Therapy
$100
Couples Therapy
$120
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Family Session
Couples Session
Individual Session
Clientele
Parents
Young Adults (18-24)
Adults (25-65)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Coaching
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Eclectic Therapy
Family Systems Therapy
Gestalt Therapy
Marriage and Family Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
The Gottman Method
Training / Certifications
Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital Counseling
Licensure
TX, LPC, 75083
Education
M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Work History
Sonya (Xiangya) Gao is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Texas, who earned her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. With 7 years’ experience, Sonya acquired extensive knowledge of counseling treatments, assessment strategies and crisis intervention skills. Sonya has worked with multifaceted patient populations from serious mentally ill, developmental delayed, personality disorders, to anxiety, depression, PTSD, as well as situational distress and adjustment issues. Sonya utilizes an eclectic treatment style including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy. Her flexibility allows her to provide treatment interventions based on each client’s unique concerns and needs. Sonya believes each individual has the strength and potential to empower themselves to combat their issues and to live a life they find to be fulfilling. By creating a safe and comfortable therapeutic environment, Sonya and her client, together, can work to challenge irrational thinking, adjust unhealthy patterns, develop self-awareness, explore coping strategies, and combat emotional distress. Sonya is also passionate about educating and developing new generation therapists. Serving as a member of the Student Advisory Council for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Clinical Mental Health department, Sonya shares her insight and ambition to help ensure high quality education for future mental health professionals.
Location
.........., ........., 78759, TX