Chia-Ying Chou, PhD, (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and director of the San Francisco Center for Compassion Focused Therapies. She offers trauma-informed individual and group psychotherapy as well as compassion-based workshops to adults of all ages. Additionally, as an expert in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Hoarding Disorder, she offers training and supervision to clinicians worldwide.
Dr. Chou is a first-generation immigrant in the United States, having been born and raised in Taiwan. She obtained her master’s degree and license as a clinical psychologist in Taiwan prior to completing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at University College London in the United Kingdom. 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 a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). For three years, she completed extensive training on the assessment and treatment of Hoarding Disorder. Dr. Chou has since treated hundreds of individuals experiencing hoarding and cluttering issues and is one of the leading experts in the treatment of Hoarding Disorder and related issues. Her background in trauma and expertise in CFT shape her perspective on hoarding to be one that is humanistic and trauma-sensitive.
Dr. Chou is a CFT trainer recognized by the Compassionate Mind Foundation in the United Kingdom. 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. 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 information and insights, while her clinical experiences also enable her research endeavors to be rooted in the real-world.
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 dance have had great influence on her approach to psychotherapy.
Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD
Hoarding & cluttering
Attachment & relationships
Grief & loss
Self-worth & self-relationship
Anxiety & depression
Spirituality and self-actualization
Individual therapy for adults
Group therapy for hoarding
Compassion-based workshops for adults
Consultation for family and friends of people experiencing hoarding
Supervision and consultation for clinicians and professionals
Clinical assessments
Free prospective client consultation
I believe that lasting changes happen when the willingness to change, on an intellectual level, is supported by the agreement on an emotional level, and the readiness to embody the change on the somatic level.
Compassion is defined as the sensitivity to suffering and commitment to relieve suffering based on the central psychotherapy approach I apply, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). To relieve suffering or improve wellbeing, we need to first honestly and courageously look at the issues at hand - not with harshness but with a compassionate understanding of how things have come to be. Clients arrive at our work together at varying stages of the process of change. My focus in the early phase of the therapy is to help them get a clearer picture of where they are, the direction they wish to be headed, and be truly excited about and committed to this journey. I often say, compassion is not about being soft and nice. It takes courage and strength (and sometimes it’s not nice). It has been inspiring to be able to help clients get in touch with the strong and brave part of their heart, and walk with them through the journey they courageously commit to out of self-compassion.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a therapy approach which has become mature in its development around 2010 by a British Psychologist, Dr. Paul Gilbert. I find CFT very helpful in helping my clients shift from a self-blaming or fear-based mindset to intrinsic motivations to change that are inspired by compassion for self and others. I use CFT in conjunction with other schools of psychotherapy approaches and techniques, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), exposure -based interventions, parts work, and somatic practices. This has helped clients cultivate emotional strength and intelligence, as well as self-alliance and self-knowledge that are needed for the other approaches to work more successfully.