About Samuel...

Samuel is a second-generation Korean American, born in the States to immigrant parents. During his early years, he experienced significant mental health issues, and, without any healthy guidance, looked to drugs and gang activities (the only outlets for men where he lived) to cope. However, things began to change after his sophomore year in high school when Samuel took his first psychology class, which lit a spark in him.

 

Samuel began using psychology to understand himself and others, and majored in it in college. His passion for psychology turned his life around, as he developed a vivacious thirst for knowledge and truth which saw him leaving his previous lifestyle of drugs and gangs.

 

Samuel's interest in psychology began as an intellectual pursuit where he dove deep into cognitive-behavioral neuroscience at the #1 ranked school for clinical psychology at the time (University of Washington, Seattle). He worked in research labs to understand how the human mind, behavior and mental illness were linked. But, his search for knowledge and truth took him down a different path after discovering meditation. He realized science wouldn't have the life answers he was truly seeking.

 

Samuel began taking an "inward journey" which eventually saw him apply for a Master's program in counseling at a school that took an "inner" approach to healing and self-discovery. The school was The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, and was renowned for its emphasis on experiential learning, holistic mental health and the bridging of Eastern Spirituality with Western Psychology.

 

There, Samuel found what he had been looking for his entire life – an approach to life (and therapy) which affirmed his humanness and taught him to know himself on a deeply emotional, spiritual and psychological level. He not only learned how to do therapy work, but also engaged in his own therapy and other healing modalities like inner child work, somatic therapy, mindfulness, energy work and shamanism. 

 

Over the next decade, Samuel worked as a psychotherapist in traditional mental health settings while continuing his own self-healing journey. He worked in variety of settings including elementary schools with children, residential treatment centers with teens, and hospice bereavement with adults and elderly. This experience of seeing and helping with a wide range of mental illness issues first hand, while embarking on his own healing journey, not only gave Samuel valuable experience, but made him question why his values and beliefs about mental health were not reflected in mental health care.

 

Samuel became disillusioned by Western society's approach to mental health care which he felt was limited and lacked holistic and humanistic applications. His own approach, which he found effective, was one of affirming authenticity, humanness and fostering healing. But all he saw around him was an emphasis on diagnosing "illness" and managing symptoms.

 

In 2018, Samuel began carving his own path as a practitioner, bringing together all his life experience and training to create his own approach to healing. He incorporated life coaching into his practice because he felt he could teach and create a different container for healing than what therapy alone could offer. He wove together elements of therapy, human sexuality, masculinity, meditation and coaching into his work, and chose to focus on the Asian male population, understanding that culturally responsive care was very difficult to find in the mental health field.

 

Overall, Samuel's journey took many twists & turns, but this is true for anyone committed to their own authenticity and truth. He created his unique path which differs from traditional mental health paradigms centered on symptom management and diagnostic labels, focusing, instead, on authenticity, connection, and empowering individuals towards practical change.

 

Samuel currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he runs 1:1 & group coaching programs for Asian men all over the world. He also teaches in-person workshops and events to help create community and foster healing. In his spare time, he loves rock climbing, playing soccer and tennis, and listening to all different genres of music.