Ziqiu Yan
The practice of seeing life with wonder
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Welcome to my site
Inspired by the artist Lhola Amira who travels the world asking, “Where does it hurt, why does it hurt, how does it hurt and what do WE do to our wounded-ness? How can WE move through the wound and gesture of healing?”
I constantly ask those questions to myself as a woman, a therapist, a healer, “What is healing? What needs to be healed?” and try to find a way to bring the true healing to my clients. Of course, each client is unique and so is the healing itself.
Background
For much of my life, I was shaped by mainstream values, with a strong focus on staying competitive and achieving success. I pursued a business degree as an undergraduate, originally planning to build a career in the corporate world. However, alongside this path, a deeper personal inquiry began to unfold—centered around the search for meaning, the nature of relationships, and a more authentic way of being and relating. This exploration ultimately shifted the course of my life.
Motivated by a desire to integrate psychological insight with spiritual wisdom, I chose to study Integral Counseling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). This program draws from the major spiritual traditions of both East and West, while also incorporating recent advances in cultural and social sciences, as well as innovations from contemporary psychoanalytic, humanistic, systemic, and transpersonal psychologies.
As someone with an Eastern cultural background, I am deeply influenced by the philosophies of Daoism, Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, and Indian Yoga. I believe it is essential to bridge Eastern and Western traditions in our modern world—to draw on their combined wisdom in order to support deeper healing, wholeness, and understanding.
My Approach and Training
Throughout my journey of learning and self-exploration, I’ve become deeply fascinated by the ways our bodies carry the imprints of unconscious experiences. I’m equally intrigued by the power of mindfulness—the simple yet profound practice of moment-to-moment awareness.
My foundation in psychotherapy began with training in Gestalt therapy, rooted in humanistic and existential traditions. Since graduating, I’ve worked in community mental health, driven by a strong passion for serving marginalized populations. This work has allowed me to support clients from diverse backgrounds, including immigrant families and individuals from various ethnicities and cultural identities.
I identify as a culturally sensitive therapist, and I hold a deep interest in exploring how social phenomena and the intersectionality of identity—such as family, culture, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status, and social roles—shape a person’s well-being. I approach this exploration through the lenses of Liberation and Transpersonal psychology.
In addition to my core training, I’ve pursued further education in mindfulness and somatic-based therapy (Hakomi), as well as the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT). My clinical work is grounded in four core pillars: client-centered care, mindfulness, non-violence, and a strong therapeutic alliance. I work experientially with individuals and couples, focusing on identifying patterns and cycles, and using tailored exercises and experiments to help clients relate to different parts of themselves and their life themes.
I believe that the healer’s own healing journey profoundly impacts their work. For this reason, I commit to my own personal growth through practices such as yoga, Vipassana meditation, and regularly connecting with nature—the sky, mountains, oceans, trees, rain, dew, stones, and sand all serve as teachers and sources of restoration. I’m also deeply curious about different cultures and histories, always seeking to expand my understanding of the human experience.
