Therapy is a place to speak your truth.
Therapy is for speaking your most candid, honest truth and to name what you want most from your life. To slow down, put the phone and other distractions away, in order to contemplate more deeply about who you are and your place in the world.
You are invited to let your guard down and address the unspoken hurts you have been living with for years, even decades. Whether you are a couple or an individual, therapy may help you make sense of the chaos inside and address its underlying causes.
I am a seasoned Asian American therapist who values multicultural and LGBTQ perspectives. I invite you to schedule a consultation with me to discuss what you are wanting to get out of therapy.
My Specialties:
Pregnancy and Parenting
Exploring transgender identity and the spectrum of gender dysphoric experiences for adult individuals and their loved ones.
Mourning, anxiety, persistent sadness, worry or guilt
Therapy Services
individual therapy
Psychoanalytic, exploratory therapy
Asian American cultural identity
Estrangement and family conflict
Parenting and Perinatal Mental Health
Trans and LGBTQ competent
couples & Family therapy
Navigating cultural differences
Codependency and conflict
Parenting challenges
Sex and intimacy
Repair from Betrayal and Infidelity
groups & workshops
Occasionally I offer group therapy and workshops to expand the possibilities of healing within a communal space. I also offer custom-designed workshops by request. To get notified about upcoming events, please sign up for my mailing list.
What to Expect
Step 1: Schedule a consultation
In a brief, free of charge 15-20 minute phone call, we will discuss what you are looking for and if it makes sense, schedule an intake session. If I am not the best fit for you, I can send you referrals to other therapists who may be better suited for what you’re looking for.
Step 2: Preliminary Intake Sessions
Within the span of 1-3 introductory sessions, I will take the time to get to know you and your reasons for seeking therapy. An optimal therapeutic relationship requires a good amount of trust and openness, and therefore these preliminary sessions are needed to determine the right “fit” between us and whether you will likely benefit from therapy with me.
Step 3: Therapy Begins
After we determine that we can work together, we will set a regular weekly time to meet. You are encouraged to arrive to sessions without anything planned, speak freely, allowing your thoughts to arise spontaneously. As we’re getting started I will welcome your questions and explain what I’m doing as we go, as the process of therapy can feel a bit strange if you are new to it. Therapy is a unique experience for each and every person.
My office is located in Sacramento’s Midtown neighborhood, very close to the lightrail.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom
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About Nicole Shieh, LMFT
Professional Experience
Nicole Hsiang Shieh is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Sacramento, California with 13+ years of clinical experience working with individuals and couples of diverse sociocultural backgrounds, as well as those identifying as LGBTQ. In particular, she helps Asian American children of immigrants navigate cultural identity, family dynamics, and intergenerational trauma. Her approach combines psychoanalytic training from Access Institute (2014) with a Masters in Counseling Psychology from CIIS (2012) and sociological foundations from Wesleyan University (2005).
Nicole’s clinical journey through Asian Community Mental Health Services, Roosevelt Middle School, and San Francisco State University Counseling Center has deepened her expertise in addressing the unique challenges faced by bicultural youth and young adults. Nicole has presented extensively on API mental health, including workshops on "Beyond the Stigma" and "The Mental Health Impact of Anti-Asian Violence."
As a supervisor at CIIS clinics and former Adjunct Professor, Nicole is committed to training culturally responsive, critical thinking, psychodynamic clinicians.