Gabrielle Zhuang, LCSW, MA
Photograph by Shayan Asgharnia
Since 2007, I have served people from diverse communities in the Los Angeles area who have faced many complex challenges.
I have worked with survivors of human trafficking (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking), older adults with chronic mental illness (Department of Mental Health), children and families (Jewish Family Service) and with Veterans (Veteran's Administration).
I have a passionate interest in the wellness and healing implications of intergenerational trauma and the intersection of racial trauma somatics and social justice. I have extensive experience working with Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, Identity and Racial/Ethnic Identity and Acute & Chronic Trauma. My specialties include working with Asian Americans, Bi-Cultural Identity, Older Adults and Veterans. I am a member of the National Association of Social Workers, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, and Asian American Psychological Association.
Currently, I serve as boards of The Relational Center and John Lloyd Foundation, an organization that funds criminal justice reform. I have also worked as a consultant for non-profit organizations and businesses such as CompassionLA and Omnicom Media Group and Alcatraz Island National Park Service.
I have a Masters in Social Work from UCLA and a Masters in Depth Psychology with an emphasis in Community Liberation and Ecopsychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. I am currently a practitioner of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.
At the intersection of professional and personal passion
At the core of the psychotherapy is the therapeutic relationship, to that end, I believe if we are going to work together you should know a little bit more about me. I identify as a .5 generation Chinese-American immigrant, I grew up in the Midwest and have lived in the Los Angeles area for the last 14 years. I am a wife and mother and a joyful mother to a toddler, outside of work I love spending time in nature and eating delicious Asian food.
I am ignited by the complexities of turning toward justice and seeking social and personal liberation, I am presently studying the intersections of Buddhist Psychology and Socially Engaged Buddhism, where personal liberation anchors and activates societal freedom. As a longtime student of Thich Naht Hahn and the Spirit Rock tradition, I have participated in a number of residential retreats in the US and Europe. I have a personal meditation practice and am trained as a community mindfulness facilitator through the Meditation Coalition formally Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation Society.
With a commitment to inhabiting an attitude of curiosity and awe I am also engaged in transformational embodiment practices such as dance and meditation.
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