ABOUT ME

Hello, my name is Kyungah Kim, and I often go by Kim.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Colorado and the therapist at Lionheart Therapy in Greenwood Village, CO.

I am originally from South Korea, where I was born, grew up, and finished a graduate program in counseling psychology at Yonsei University.

My work in Korea included ​counseling adolescents and young adults with behavioral, emotional, and career issues.

It has been quite a journey on a long and winding road ever since I left Korea in 2005.

Long story short, I obtained my second masters degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in 2009.

Some of the highlights about me:

  • ​I am passionate about helping adult survivors of childhood abuse/neglect.
  • I have done extensive work with survivors of domestic violence and abusive relationship who wanted to heal and change their pattern.
  • One of my most recent interests is in integrative approach that addresses physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms of chronic stress/trauma.
  • I am bi-cultural and bilingual in Korean and English, and I strive to provide culturally sensitive counseling.
  • I am a Certified Therapist in EMDR (Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) technique and I often use it to heal attachment wounds and developmental trauma.
  • I am trained in DBT (Dialectical behavior therapy) and use Mindfulness-based interventions frequently. 
  • I have post-graduate training in and have experience working with children and adolescents, although I do not work directly with children any more.

What it looks like to work with me:

  • I see issues through the lens of trauma (past unresolved issues that still affect you negatively), which means that I will ask “what happened to you?”
  • I emphasize building resources, especially in the beginning, which means that I will ask you, “what is working for you?” and we will work on helping you have more of them. 
  • I will also ask you about your overall health, lifestyle, your diet and sleep, caffeine intake, substance use, etc. It is because our brain is part of our body, and how we feel gets affected by what we do to our body.
  • Depending on what you want and where you are, I may teach you relaxation/grounding techniques and mindfulness-based awareness building tools. There will be homework to practice them.
  • EMDR is proven to be effective in helping to resolve past experiences that still affect you negatively. If you and I agree that you are ready, then we can try and see if it helps.
  • I welcome the topics of cultural and immigration-related trauma and stress from experiences of racism. Please feel free to bring them in.