About Kathy Kim, MS, AMFT
What you are longing for is possible.
I believe in the process of change and am passionate about helping individuals, couples, and families work through the obstacles and stuck places keeping them from experiencing the fullness and joy of feeling deeply known, loved, valued, and supported.
When we are grounded with this deep sense of security within ourselves and in our most important relationships, everything changes.
Together, we will make sense of the obstacles and patterns keeping you stuck and feeling alone and disconnected.
My approach.
I am a registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in couples and family therapy working under the supervision of Annabelle Safinia.
I hold a non-pathologizing view of client distress. My therapeutic approach is interpersonal and shaped by attachment theory, family systems theory, and Emotionally Focused Therapy.
My background and experience.
My clinical interest and work have been focused on couples and families in distress, and individuals working through the impacts of complex trauma. I have worked with highly escalated couples, separated spouses attempting to reconcile, parents struggling with intimacy, couples struggling from the impacts of past trauma, and children and parents seeking relationship repair. My individual clients have worked with me to address anxiety, perfectionism, grief, relationship abuse recovery, and post-divorce transitions.
When working with couples, I believe it is important to acknowledge the role that gender, culture, social location, neurodivergence, and other power differentials have on the relational dynamic co-created by couples. These factors also impact families and I enjoy supporting parents and children navigating these circumstances.
I have completed advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy in 3 different modalities (Couples, Family, and Individuals). I hold a domestic violence counseling certificate and bring a trauma-informed care to all my clients.
I integrate parts-work and somatic awareness regularly to help clients strengthen their mind-body felt sense of their emotional experiences.
About me.
I am a second-generation Korean American, born and raised in a bicultural household in Los Angeles. I earned my B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and my M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Fuller School of Psychology, Pasadena.
Becoming a therapist is a second career after spending more than twenty years as a marketing professional and entrepreneur—a move spurred by my own transformative work in psychotherapy which restored a hope for change and wholeness that has never left me.
I am a person of faith and believe my accumulated professional and personal lived experiences have been preparing me for this work, which I am passionate about. I am committed to supporting my own growth and development because of how it impacts the way I show up for my family, my community, and my clients.
I love raising my four amazing children and survived launching a child to college. Out of the office you can find me engaging in deep philosophical discussions with friends, enjoying the quiet of early mornings, decluttering, or hiking up a steep hill.