About Samuel

Growing up as a second-generation Korean American, I felt the intense pressures of my immigrant family's expectations alongside the lack of healthy emotional guidance & support. This led to pretty severe anxiety, depression and addiction as a teen. I couldn't find outlets where I was living (Texas) and also found myself engaging in gang-like activities to find male role models and to cope with my suppressed emotions.​

 

But things changed when I took my first psychology class my junior year in high school. I wasn't interested in school up until that point, but psychology was different. Psychology helped me begin to understand my own mind, and I started to see my life turn around as a consequence. Almost overnight, I left my previous lifestyle (drugs & "acting out"), and devoted myself to psychology, academia, and a pursuit of truth, self-knowledge and healing. 

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I decided to pursue a career as a therapist to continue healing myself and to help others using psychology. I studied and worked hard to get into the University of Washington, which was the #1 school for clinical psychology at the time, and dove deep into cognitive-behavioral neuroscience, mental health and understanding who we are. I was passionate, worked in labs as a research assistant, and even presented at conferences on childhood cognition & development. 

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But science couldn't "heal" me, and it couldn't answer the deeper question I'd always carried: "Who am I? Why am I here?" This is what had always drawn me to psychology – the inner journey of introspection & knowing my true self. So I kept searching, and took a chance on a graduate school that could potentially answer these deeper questions.

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The California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco was renowned for integrating Western Psychology and Eastern Spirituality, taking a holistic mind-body-spirit approach to therapy and healing. This is where not only my questions around life & self were answered, but where I truly began healing!

 

Through the program and diving into my own therapy, I got out of my head (intellectualization) and into my body and heart where I began to know myself and let go of deep patterns of anxiety and trauma. I started to feel connected to myself, the people around me, and was, for the first time, truly present and alive.

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Over the next few years, I used what I learned around holistic healing, therapy & spirituality in my own self-development journey as well as with clients across diverse clinical settings as a therapist. 

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In 2018, I also discovered and got certified in both men's work and personal development coaching, which helped me facilitate transformation in new ways (these modalities were more "masculine" whereas therapy was more "feminine" in principle) . Also, with the #StopAsianHate Movement in 2020, I felt called to bring everything I had learned – holistic healing, mens/masculinity work, and coaching –  to the Asian community and specifically Asian men.

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So, in 2021, I opened my own therapy & coaching practice helping Asian men heal to find purpose and fulfillment in their careers and relationships. This was deeply personal for me. If I had met someone like me earlier in my life, it would've saved me a lot of pain, resources, and time.. 

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Working with Asian men,  I found my purpose in a new way. There was a feeling of synergy I never felt with previous populations I worked with. I got to use my knowledge, talents and skills as well as my personal experience growing up as an Asian man to help other Asian men understand themselves, grow and heal patterns they've carried their entire lives.

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In 2024, I moved to Los Angeles, CA where I've been translating my work, which had mostly been virtual, to in-person experiences. I currently do 1:1 therapy & coaching (virtually and in-person), teach workshops, and run monthly groups supporting Asian men's mental health. If you're curious about my work, you can find out more here. You can also reach out via the form on my website or email me at info@samuelshin.co.