Meet Crystal Chen, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Specialties: depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, trauma, relationship/attachment concerns, and cross-cultural issues
Offering In-Person & Online Therapy
Getting to know Dr. Crystal Chen
How would you describe the way you work?
I enjoy working with adults and early career professionals who struggle with intense emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety, anger) and relationship difficulties. I care about helping people who've been called “sensitive”, “emotional”, or diagnosed as neurodivergent and rediscover this as a strength, rather than a liability. I am also passionate about helping 1st, 1.5, and 2nd-generation immigrants navigate cross-cultural conflicts, family dynamics, and intergenerational trauma.
One of the reasons I’m a therapist is to help people heal from relational trauma. Together, we might explore how past hurt, unpredictability, or abandonment may continue to influence you today. We might use mindfulness and somatic techniques to help you slow down and attend to your feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them. We'll recognize and respect the ways you've adapted to protect yourself, and learn to develop loving relationships with the parts of yourself that are carrying pain. We might also practice skills to help you respond to whatever life throws your way from a place of groundedness.
I strongly believe that you and I are co-creators of therapy sessions. I'll listen to and honor your lived experience, while helping foster further self-discovery with curiosity and self-compassion. During sessions, you can expect me to be warm, empathic, and transparent. I’m happy to share the different pathways we can take in therapy, always with the intention of centering your goals, creating a space where you feel empowered to try new strategies, and helping you find greater peace with your emotions. My priority is helping you build a life that feels not just 'survivable,' but also meaningful and fulfilling.
How do you approach culture and identity as a therapist?
As a Chinese American child of immigrants, I understand many of the unique challenges related to BIPOC and immigrant families, including discrimination, bicultural identity, cross-cultural issues, and family conflict. I also recognize how often we hide, silence, or change parts of ourselves to fit into the expectations others have of us. In therapy, I offer an affirming space where you can reconnect with your authentic self, reclaim your identities, and redefine your relationship with them in a way that feels true and empowering.
I am deeply invested in social justice and collective liberation, and recognize that our healing is inextricably linked to our broader contexts, including the conditions of our family, community, and Earth. I won't encourage you to simply adapt to oppression. Instead, I believe that what may seem like mental illness or dysfunction are often natural responses to abnormal conditions, signaling that things are not all right. I believe that we can honor these signs as guides toward meaningful change and collective well-being. I'll help you listen to your instincts and strengths. Our sessions can be a place where you can vent and rest, or where we can develop a plan. Together, we’ll work toward building the conditions necessary for you to thrive.
What can you help me with?
Anger
Anxiety (e.g., generalized anxiety, chronic worry, social anxiety, panic attacks)
Attachment issues and interpersonal dynamics (e.g., getting stuck in unhelpful patterns, processing the effect of past relationships)
Emerging and young adulthood (18 years old +)
Grief and loss (e.g., bereavement, unresolved childhood experiences)
Life transitions (e.g., relationship break ups, transition from school to workforce, becoming a parent)
Mindfulness
Multicultural identity (e.g., AAPI and Latinx identity, 1.5 and 2nd gen, bicultural identity, transracial adoptees, interracial families)
Neurodiversity-affirming therapy for autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, and neurocurious folks
Relationship stress (e.g., family relationships, dating in NYC, conflict, communication difficulties, boundary setting)
Self-esteem
Trauma (e.g., childhood abuse and neglect, sexual trauma, C-PTSD)
What types of therapy do you use?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Attachment-focused Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT)
Mindfulness based techniques
Multicultural Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Trauma-informed Therapy
What’s your session fee?
I am an out of network provider and my fee ranges from $225-275/session. As a therapist committed to equitable access to therapy, I also have a small number of sliding scale spots that you can ask about.
Our practice has partnered with Mentaya - a service that can check what out of network insurance benefits you have for therapy and provide an immediate estimate. Check here.
Education & Professional Training
Crystal Chen, PhD completed her PhD and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Adelphi University, and earned her bachelor's degree in social work from NYU, where she graduated magna cum laude. Dr. Chen is also on faculty as an adjunct professor of psychology at Adelphi University. She specializes in attachment-focused therapy where she helps adults understand the effects of early childhood and family experiences on present day relationships. Dr. Chen is well versed in therapy for anxiety and depression, and uses Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and other mindfulness or somatic approaches that strengthen emotion regulation, self-awareness, and relationship dynamics. She is deeply invested in helping adults talk through and heal from the effects of trauma (both personal and generational) and providing neurodiversity-affirming therapy.
Dr. Chen has led grant-funded research on cross-cultural attachment issues and cultural conflicts within immigrant families, and is passionate about working with transracial Asian adoptees and the BIPOC community. She joins the practice with prior clinical experience in hospitals, community mental health, and private practice settings. Dr. Chen speaks Mandarin, loves aerial arts, anything matcha, and her Samoyed dog.
