Nicole Shieh Therapy
Welcome to my therapy practice, a place to speak and be heard.
Therapy is the place to express your most candid, honest truth. It’s where you articulate what you really, truly want most from your life. You can let your guard down and acknowledge the hurts you have been living with, often outside of your conscious awareness. Whether you are a couple or an individual, I can help you make sense of the chaos inside and address its underlying causes.
I specialize in working with Asian American teens and adults who struggle in difficult relationships with their immigrant parents. I recognize that Asian Americans make up a large, diverse population that share similar experiences, yet at the same time your particular situation is unique to you.
You might feel like you have never been seen for who you are as a separate person, having divided yourself into different parts, depending on the context. Perhaps you feel both love and hate for your family, confused by the ambivalence. You wish to not care what others think, yet tormented by culturally-engrained fears of disappointment.
You are ready to take responsibility for the life you want to live by facing the issues that prevent you from moving forward.
In therapy, you can carve out and claim a new place for yourself, with the aim of reentering your world from a different position. You can address the painful family dynamics and your role in them, cultural expectations, racial stereotypes, anxiety and depression, guilt, shame, and fears of losing approval and belonging.
I invite you to schedule a consultation with me to discuss what you are looking for.
Therapy Services
individual therapy
Make a space for yourself to be heard. Speak about the role of cultural expectations and beliefs, parental pressures, gender and sexuality, silence and shame around mental illness, wealth/class status and more. I work with trauma, anxiety, depression, gender dysphoria, codependency, addictive behaviors .
couples & Family therapy
Speak about loss of intimacy, breaches in trust, passive aggressive communication, infidelity, excessive anger and volatility, parenting challenges, navigating polyamory, negotiating a separation and more. Includes close friendships, family members, romantic partners and married spouses.
groups & workshops
Occasionally I offer group therapy and workshops to expand the possibilities of healing within a communal space. I also offer custom-designed workshops by request. To get notified about upcoming events, please sign up for my mailing list.
What to Expect
Step 1: Schedule a free consultation
In a brief, 15-20 minute phone call, we will discuss what you are looking for and determine whether it makes sense to schedule a first session.
Step 2: Preliminary Intake Sessions
Within the span of 1-3 introductory sessions, I will take the time to get to know your reasons for seeking therapy, collect detailed information about your struggles throughout your life, current situation, and family and relationship history. This is also a time for assessing the “fit” between us, and whether you will likely benefit from the type of therapy I provide.
Step 3: Therapy Begins
After we determine that we can work together, we will set a regular time to meet. You are encouraged to arrive to sessions without anything planned, speak freely, allowing your thoughts to arise spontaneously. I invite telling your dreams as part of what we explore in session. As we’re getting started I will welcome your questions and explain what I’m doing as we go, as the process of therapy can feel a bit strange if you are new to it. Therapy is a unique experience for each and every person.
My office is located in Sacramento’s Midtown neighborhood, very close to the lightrail.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom
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About Nicole Shieh, LMFT
Professional Experience
Nicole Hsiang Shieh is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Sacramento, California with 13+ years of clinical experience working with individuals and couples of diverse sociocultural backgrounds, as well as those identifying as LGBTQ. In particular, she helps Asian American children of immigrants navigate cultural identity, family dynamics, and intergenerational trauma. Her approach combines psychoanalytic training from Access Institute (2014) with a Masters in Counseling Psychology from CIIS (2012) and sociological foundations from Wesleyan University (2005).
Nicole’s clinical journey through Asian Community Mental Health Services, Roosevelt Middle School, and San Francisco State University Counseling Center has deepened her expertise in addressing the unique challenges faced by bicultural youth and young adults. Nicole has presented extensively on API mental health, including workshops on "Beyond the Stigma" and "The Mental Health Impact of Anti-Asian Violence."
As a supervisor at CIIS clinics and former Adjunct Professor, Nicole is committed to training culturally responsive, critical thinking, psychodynamic clinicians.