Alice (Jiayang) Xu

I am a U.S.-licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over 11 years in the mental health field, including five years as a New York psychotherapist with thousands of clinical hours. I currently live in Shenzhen, China.

If you've ever felt like a stranger in your own life—watching the rush of the world while feeling detached, or wondering why you keep repeating the same painful patterns—you're not alone. Answering that question became the compass of my career—and it's what I want to help you explore, too.

I hold a Master of Social Work (MSW) from New York University and a Bachelor's degree in three majors — Psychology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies — from The Ohio State University. I have also completed a three-year psychoanalytic training and am currently in a three-year Jungian analysis program—six years of depth-oriented study in total. These experiences have shaped not just my technique, but my way of being with another person—attentive to the unsaid and the unknown, and steady in the face of what is hard to bear.

In the early years of my career, I immersed myself in diverse clinical and academic settings—Beijing Huilongguan Psychiatric Hospital, the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Gouverneur Hospital in New York, among others. Each experience taught me a different piece of the puzzle. I came to see that every psychological struggle is woven from physical, psychological, and life-context threads. That's why I always work with the whole person, not just a diagnosis or a symptom.

During my five years of practicing psychotherapy in New York, I had the privilege of serving clients from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Helping clients reconnect with the wisdom and resilience already present in their own cultural background has become essential to my work. Through a warm and genuine therapeutic relationship, I accompany each client as they explore their inner world and discover their own way forward.