Trusted Providers

About

Hi, I’m Dr. Alena Schuss, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of Aera Mental Health. I am deeply passionate about walking alongside individuals, couples, and families as they navigate life’s challenges and uncover pathways toward healing, growth, and lasting change.

Originally from Austria, my journey brought me to the United States in 2017 on a full athletic scholarship for cross-country and track. Prior to that, I spent several years competing as a professional triathlete. These experiences shaped not only my resilience, but also my deep understanding of the mental and emotional demands placed on high performers.

I hold both Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, complemented by academic training in Business Administration and Exercise & Sports Science. I am currently completing my second doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and working toward licensure as a clinical and forensic psychologist, with the goal of expanding my work in psychological assessment. I am also further developing specialized training in child custody evaluations.

Therapeutic Approach

My work is collaborative and grounded in the belief that people are shaped by the systems around them—families, teams, workplaces, and communities. As a marriage and family therapist, I pay close attention to those relationships and to the patterns that quietly repeat within them, so that change can hold outside the therapy room as well as inside it.

I approach trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, and addiction with a trauma-informed lens and a steady, unhurried pace. Having competed at a high level myself, I understand how performance pressure can make asking for support feel like a weakness, and I work to make therapy a place where that pressure can finally be set down and examined honestly.

Specialized Experience

Over the years, I have had the privilege of working extensively with first responders, veterans, athletes, and high performers—individuals whose roles often carry invisible emotional weight.

I am an assigned clinician for the Anaheim Police Department through The Counseling Team International and regularly respond to critical incidents, providing support in high-stress, crisis environments. My doctoral dissertation, “The Lived Experiences of Adult Children Raised by Police or Fire Service Parents,” reflects my ongoing commitment to understanding and supporting those impacted by high-demand professions.

About

Hi, I’m Grace Huang, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and therapist in California with over ten years of clinical experience. I work with adults navigating anxiety, trauma, depression, chronic stress, burnout, grief, relationship challenges, cultural expectations, life transitions, and difficulties with emotional regulation. If you are feeling overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, or stuck, I am passionate about helping you find hope, healing, and transformational change.

My approach is warm, collaborative, and client-centered. I believe that every person’s story is unique, and that therapy should be tailored to your goals, values, lived experiences, and cultural background. I work to create a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental space where you feel heard, understood, and empowered to explore your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Together, we identify patterns that may no longer serve you, strengthen self-compassion and self-awareness, make sense of your nervous system and somatic responses, and develop healthier ways of coping.

Therapeutic Approach

I integrate evidence-based treatments — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness-based interventions, trauma-informed care, and EMDR — pairing practical coping skills with deeper work on the childhood, relationship, or trauma experiences that still shape the present. My goal is not only that you feel better, but that you build lasting resilience, emotional regulation, and healthier relationships.

As an EMDR-trained therapist, I also offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, which helps the brain safely reprocess distressing memories in a structured, supportive setting. It can be an effective treatment for trauma, anxiety, panic, grief, and PTSD.

Specialized Experience

I have a special interest in working with high-achieving professionals, parents, caregivers, and individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of my clients struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, burnout, imposter syndrome, cultural or family expectations, and difficulty setting healthy boundaries. I understand the pressure of balancing career, family, caregiving responsibilities, and personal well-being, and I work collaboratively with my clients to build confidence, self-compassion, emotional balance, and self-care practices that hold up over time.

Beyond one-to-one therapy, I am passionate about increasing mental health awareness and reducing stigma through community outreach, speaking engagements, clinical supervision, psychoeducation, and professional collaboration. I believe mental health care should be accessible, culturally accepted, and grounded in compassionate care. My mission is to offer practical tools, evidence-based strategies, and solution-focused support so people can navigate life’s challenges with greater confidence and healthier relationships, and build meaningful, long-lasting change.

If you are looking for compassionate, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based clinical care, I welcome the opportunity to support you. Whatever season of life you are in — navigating anxiety, trauma, burnout, relationship challenges, or a major life transition — I will meet you where you are and walk alongside you on your journey toward hope, healing, and emotional wellness.

About

A core priority in my work is helping clients reclaim the power of their voice. Therapy is most meaningful as a collaborative process where you are not only heard, but where there is a genuine effort to know and understand you.

I strive to ensure every client feels truly heard, understood, and seen. Together, we approach therapy with mutual curiosity, respect for your lived experience, and attention to the personal and cultural stories that shape how you move through the world.

Therapeutic Approach

I prioritize a collaborative relationship grounded in trust, authenticity, and curiosity. My integrative approach draws from somatic therapy for nervous system regulation, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Narrative Therapy to support embodied, meaningful, and sustainable healing through the lens of your own personal story and experiences.

Because vulnerability can feel difficult with a stranger, I strive to create a relationship where clients feel safe enough to be known. I am committed to a socially conscious practice that honors each person’s experiences within their broader social and systemic context.

Specialized Experience

As an Iranian American therapist, I understand the richness and complexity of holding multiple cultural identities.

I especially enjoy supporting Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), as well as teenagers and adults navigating identity formation, relationships, and the often tender process of growing into themselves. I also find meaning in working with people experiencing grief and complex trauma.

About

Hi, I’m Seung-Wan—pronounced like “I had sung a song” and “I waved my magic WANd.” I was born and raised in Southern California (Go Dodgers!) and attended UCLA as an undergraduate. After spending 10 years in entertainment, I transitioned to mental health and earned my Master’s at Antioch University Los Angeles, whose program emphasizes social justice and queer-affirming therapy.

I integrate social injustice and systemic violence into my work, viewing people within the context of their environment and focusing on intergenerational patterns. I think therapy can be daunting, so I try to make the process more approachable.

Therapeutic Approach

Therapy can be intimidating, and I focus on creating a collaborative space centered on your goals. I explain concepts and provide education about how therapy works, especially for people who have never been to therapy. In session, I’ll ask whether what I’m sharing accurately reflects your experience and welcome feedback about your experience in therapy.

I think therapy can be approachable and personal—a place to change what is no longer working, an opportunity for growth, and a space to exhale. I take my work seriously, but I also believe there is room for humor and lightness. That means I’ll likely bring up pop-culture references and memes in session, and probably ask to see your pets.

Specialized Experience

I specialize in working with couples who want to understand each other better or are finding it difficult to communicate. I also enjoy working with therapy first-timers, first- and second-generation Americans, people from immigrant backgrounds, emotionally avoidant people, and men.

About

I’m a bilingual therapist providing virtual therapy to adults and couples in California and Washington. I especially enjoy working with Asian American and immigrant clients who are navigating anxiety, burnout, insomnia, relationship challenges, family expectations, cultural identity, and major life transitions.

My background includes outpatient psychiatry, hospital and community mental health, and private practice. I understand that people can appear highly capable on the outside while privately feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure of themselves. My goal is to offer a space where clients do not have to perform or have everything figured out before we begin. I provide therapy in English and Mandarin.

Therapeutic Approach

My approach is warm, collaborative, and culturally responsive. I take time to understand both what is happening now and the experiences and relationship patterns that may be underneath it.

I draw from relational and attachment-based therapy, psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and trauma-informed approaches. With couples, I incorporate elements of Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method.

I am active and engaged in sessions. I offer practical tools when they are useful, while also helping clients develop a deeper understanding of themselves and create changes that feel sustainable.

Specialized Experience

Anxiety and depression; trauma and attachment concerns; relationship and couples issues; workplace stress and burnout; insomnia and sleep difficulties; Asian American and immigrant mental health; cultural identity and acculturation; intergenerational and family dynamics; and life transitions, grief, and caregiver stress.