Meet Peggy Loo, PhD
Founding Director, Clinical Supervisor, Licensed Psychologist (NY & NJ)
Specialties: anxiety, trauma, matrescence, perfectionism, interracial relationship dynamics, and BIPOC mental health
Offering In-Person & Online Therapy
Getting to know Dr. Peggy Loo
How would you describe the way you work?
I really enjoy working with high achieving professionals, new parents, and leaders that often don’t have the space to take care for themselves or be vulnerable. As a psychologist passionate about mental health literacy, I’ll teach you about how your mood, trauma, or whatever skills we’re trying out works so you can deepen understanding and feel empowered over time. I’d describe myself as collaborative, deliberately hopeful, and highly conversational in session. I love to laugh with my patients, and I balance encouragement, self-discovery, and gentle challenge.
I’ll help you make insightful connections and foster actionable change so ah-ha moments and doing go hand in hand. We can tackle what you’ve been struggling with (or avoiding) so you don’t have to figure it out alone. We’ll unpack what’s happening in your relationships with curiosity and compassion, as I believe life is meant to be lived in connection and community - but that’s often super hard. Sometimes I'll encourage us to work through difficult experiences or trauma so you get unstuck, especially if you’re feeling held back by something in the past. I’ll slow you down and help you be present - so you can notice your patterns, feelings, and what’s happening in your body. Then we’ll use that knowledge to help you grow.
Sometimes it’s really hard to imagine our lives any different than what we’re used to. It often takes someone else to see what’s possible. My hope for therapy with you goes beyond symptom relief; I want people to start flourishing. Because when you’re doing well, it pours out into the people and world around you.
How do you approach identity and culture as a therapist?
I’ll treat who you are with respect, acceptance, and care. I believe what makes you, you (your racial, spiritual, gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, age, class, neurodivergence, etc) is wonderful and fundamentally shapes your experiences (and how you’re treated in the world) - so it’s a key thread I listen for in all of your stories.
I’m a second-generation Taiwanese American therapist, which means I was born and raised in the US by immigrant parents who were born and raised in Taiwan. I’m interested in the unique challenges of the immigrant family experience and bicultural identity - and how it shapes the way you feel about yourself and others. I'll always be open to talking about your feelings about your identity, whether they’re positive or complex - and the ways that can get even more complicated in any relationship with someone different than yourself. A fun fact: my dissertation research was on interracial romantic relationships, so I have a soft spot for interracial partners. In addition to being invested in BIPOC mental health, I enjoy helping people (re)discover the strengths and meaning that can be found in their neurodivergent or spiritual identities - especially if they have experienced shame, hurt, or trauma in this area.
As someone dedicated to multicultural and liberation psychology, I believe naming and healing from oppression is an important part of mental health, and something I’ll talk about openly in session. My hope is that you feel comfortable to share and be your whole self with me, knowing that I'm ready to listen, affirm, and dive in.
What can you help me with?
Anger
ADHD (e.g., adult diagnosis adjustment, neurodivergent affirming strategies)
Anxiety (e.g., generalized anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, health anxiety)
Caregiver stress (e.g., caring for terminally ill or mentally ill family members, parentified adult children)
Egg freezing
Grief (e.g., bereavement, unresolved childhood experiences)
Interracial and intercultural relationship dynamics
Interpersonal dynamics (e.g., family relationships, friendships, coworkers)
Multicultural identity (e.g., racial, ethnicity, bicultural, 2nd gen, LGBTQ, matrescence, neurodivergence, and spirituality concerns)
Mindfulness
Pregnancy and postpartum (e.g., miscarriage anxiety, postpartum return to work, matrescence)
Relationship stress (e.g., conflict or communication skills, dating, marriage dynamics, navigating separation or divorce)
Trauma (e.g., childhood emotional abuse/neglect, C-PTSD, racial or religious trauma)
Work stress and burnout (e.g., physicians in high-intensity specialties, senior leadership, PhD students)
What types of therapy do you use?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
Multicultural Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Relational Cultural Therapy
Rumination Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RF-CBT)
Somatic Therapy
Trauma Therapy
What’s your session fee?
I am an out of network provider and my fee ranges from $350-400/session. As a psychologist committed to equitable access to therapy, I 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
Peggy Loo, PhD is the Founder and Clinical Director of Manhattan Therapy Collective. Dr. Loo earned a PhD and a master’s degree from Columbia University in counseling psychology, where she trained with leaders in the field of multicultural psychology. She also completed her bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois, and is a Midwestern transplant to NYC. In addition to being well versed in trauma-focused therapies and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, she incorporates mindfulness, neuroscience, and active teaching about how mental health works in session. Dr. Loo is a certified perinatal mental health professional (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International and completed additional trauma training from the Embody Lab, the Trauma Research Foundation, and the The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy.
Dr. Loo is a clinical supervisor for postdoctoral fellows at Manhattan Therapy Collective and psychology grad students at Columbia. She is on the advisory board for SPEAK, a non-profit organization elevating Asian American mental health in Westchester County. She is also a member of the NYC Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association, the Asian American Psychological Association, and the Women’s Mental Heath Consortium. Her views have been featured in media outlets like Well+Good, Forbes Health, Real Simple, and the New York Times. Dr. Loo loves to bring her dog Hamilton to work, hike, watch stand-up comedy, and (nearly) anything pickled.
