Founder + Clinical Director
Janine Cheng, LCSW
She/her
Maybe your relationship is stuck in a loop - the same argument, the defensiveness, the silence, the widening distance no amount of effort seems to close. Maybe the battle is internal: perfectionism, self-doubt, and the exhausting performance of having it all together while feeling unseen, unappreciated and alone. Or maybe it's your family, organized around rigid roles, unspoken rules and crushing expectations: the high-functioning child no one ever had to worry about, the son constantly reminded of the legacy he must uphold, the daughter who tracked and managed everyone’s emotions- roles that persist long after the conditions that created them.
These ways of being didn’t come from nowhere-they are learned ways of protecting yourself, of surviving your most difficult and frightening moments. In our work together, we’ll slow down and look at the full story of you.
My Philosophy
I believe that healing happens when all parts of you are welcomed-your thoughts, emotions, body, history, and the ways you’ve learned to cope.
With couples, we’ll look at the deeper cycles driving your conflict and help you both find new ways to reach for each other with more clarity, curiosity and mutual understanding. With individuals, we’ll explore how anxiety, self-doubt, or people-pleasing patterns took root and gently begin to untangle them so you can feel more grounded and aligned with your higher Self. Family therapy will help recognize and challenge the roles, alliances, and rules keeping everyone stuck.
I work extensively with clients navigating the weight of filial obligation and family expectations, guilt around choosing your own path, love expressed through sacrifice rather than words, and the pressure to achieve as proof of your family's struggle being worth it. If you've spent your life translating between two cultures or between your parents' way of loving and your own, this work honors both where you come from and who you're becoming.
We’ll use a blend of methods to support both your mind and your body: somatic practices to regulate your nervous system, mindfulness to create space and presence, and therapeutic approaches like CBT, DBT, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotionally Focused Therapy, and the Gottman Method to bring new understanding and real, practical tools for change.
Through all of this, we move with clarity, compassion, and intention.
Janine’s Writings
Rewrite your story today.
You don't have to keep repeating the same patterns. Therapy can help you better understand what's driving them and create a different path forward. Let us help find the right therapist for you.
A therapist's guide to navigating prenup conversations as a couple. How to address the fears, family patterns, and financial assumptions that surface before attorneys get involved, so the legal process does not become the first honest conversation you have about money.