Chia-Ying Chou, PhD (she/her), is a clinical psychologist and director of the San Francisco Center for Compassion Focused Therapies. Dr. Chou was born and raised in Taiwan, and is a first generation immigrant in the U.S. She obtained her master’s degree and license as a clinical psychologist in Taiwan prior toPhD in Clinical Psychology at University College London in the UK. Dr. Chou’s doctoral research focused on trauma and symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), specifically how trauma is remembered and processed in the mind and the body. Dr. Chou came to San Francisco in 2014 for her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she dedicated three years to research and clinical work on Hoarding Disorder. Dr. Chou has since treated hundreds of individuals experiencing hoarding and cluttering issues and is one of the leading experts in the. Her background in trauma and expertise in Compassion Focused Therapy shape her perspective on hoarding to be one that is humanistic and trauma-sensitive.

Dr. Chou’s primary approach is Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). CFT is an integrative therapeutic framework, which upholds “Compassion” as the guiding principle of the therapy process. This framework integrates Buddhist philosophy, neuroscience, psychological theories and therapeutic approaches, such as attachment theory, parts work, psychodynamic theories, somatic and imagery techniques, as well as cognitive-behavioral theories and interventions. Dr. Chou is skilled in guiding clients to increase awareness of their deeper feelings, states of mind, unrecognized assumptions and beliefs. She applies somatic and imagery exercises to help clients cultivate ease and friendliness in their self-to-self relationship, and build strength, courage, and wisdom to handle challenges in life. She has a strong emphasis on the importance of developing a sense of safeness in the connection between self and others. She works with clients to develop wisdom and skills in the balance between compassion for self and compassion for others. With a trauma-sensitive and compassion-focused lens, she believes that every ‘problematic’ behavior has its understandable reasons or roots. Compassion to her looks like having the courage to face what is difficult to face, resisting the temptation to blame, and relentlessly orienting oneself to what heals.

Besides her clinical work with clients, Dr. Chou is a CFT trainer recognized by the Compassionate Mind Foundation in the UK. She is also one of the few hoarding experts in the world, who has both rich clinical experiences and active involvement in research. Dr. Chou provides training workshops, supervision and consultation to clinicians and professionals who are interested in developing expertise in applying CFT in their clinical work and/or supporting people experiencing hoarding and psychological aftermath of trauma. As a scientist practitioner, Dr. Chou leads and participates in research projects examining the psychological mechanisms associated with trauma and hoarding and ways to improve treatment. These research involvements inform her clinical work with the latest scientific evidence.

As a Buddhist who received lay ordination in 2018 in the Soto Zen tradition, Dr. Chou’s approach to professional services is intimately aligned with her spiritual practice. She aspires to embody compassion and uprightness as a mental health professional and approaches helping with respect and appreciation of the innate completeness of the ones helped. Dr. Chou’s clinical work also has a strong emphasis on the mind and body connection. Her interests in somatic therapeutic approaches, as well as her personal practice of 5Rhythms have had great influence on her approach to psychotherapy.