Shao Jiayi
Shao Jiayi, MHC-LP
Staff therapist
If you’re looking for a compassionate, deeply perceptive environment with a therapist who…
Understands what it means to feel too much, try too hard, or get stuck in your thoughts
Gets what it’s like to live between cultures, identities, and expectations—and is curious about all parts of you
Brings cultural sensitivity, trauma-informed tools, and a deep respect for all your complex parts
…you might be in the right place.
About Shao
Shao (she/they) brings warmth, depth, and cultural sensitivity to her work.
Born and raised in China, Shao practices in both English and Mandarin. She helps clients navigate multiple identities, languages, cultures, and emotional landscapes, while exploring the intersection of migration, racism, colonialism and marginalization. Many of her clients identify as queer, immigrant, neurodivergent, or have grown up in high-pressure or cross-cultural environments.
Shao helps clients recognize and explore their trauma, as well as the emotional and relationship patterns that have shaped their lives. She believes that therapy is about reconnecting with the parts of yourself that have been silenced, hidden, or fragmented—and making space for those parts to be seen and held. By helping clients better understand themselves, Shao helps them create a life that’s less about reacting and more about intentionally choosing how they want to relate to others and move forward.
Clients often come to Shao looking for space to explore their identity. Many of the people she works with are navigating trauma, depression, and anxiety. They are high achievers who find themselves feeling burnt out or lost, and want to discover what’s behind this feeling, reconnect with themselves, and build the life they want.
Shao also has experience working with, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, grief, and addiction. She helps clients work through trauma—including complex trauma and the psychological impact of cultural displacement. Shao also helps clients navigate bipolar disorder, OCD, body image concerns, relationship challenges, and work- or academic-related stress.
Her work is grounded in internal family systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and somatic mindfulness. With a background in Zen Buddhism and improv, Shao often incorporates metaphor, imagery, and mind-body awareness into her work—this holistic approach helps clients more deeply connect their physical bodies with the emotional work they’ve done, and move toward stronger self-trust and clarity.
Shao might be the right therapist for you if…
…you’re sick of holding contradictions—between who you are and who you’ve been told to be.
…you want help understanding your experience of being othered—by family, by systems, by the stories they carry.
…you’ve always been the “sensitive” or “high-achieving” one, and you're exhausted—maybe from burnout, academic stress, or trying to meet impossible standards.
…you’re neurodivergent, or wondering if you might be, and want support navigating focus, motivation, and meaning (without being told to just try harder).
…you’re somewhere between “queer,” “third-culture kid,” and “cultural chameleon”—and honestly, you’d just like someone who gets that.
…you’re tangled up in limerence, longing, or love that hits too hard—and want to stop replaying it in your head at 2 a.m.
…you’re tired of “figuring it out” alone, and want a therapist who brings presence, insight, and imagination to the process.
…you want therapy that’s both kind and direct—a place where you can bring all your complexity.
…you’re not afraid to get weird—and you want a therapist who isn’t either.
…you’re just tired of healing playlists, self-help TikToks, and pretending you’re okay.
…you’re living between languages, identities, and expectations, tired of explaining where you’re “really from” or who you “really are”—and want to work with someone who gets it.
Education + licensure
Ed.M. in Mental Health Counseling, Columbia University, 2022
M.A. in Psychological Counseling, Columbia University, 2022
B.S. in Applied Psychology, Minor in Educational Theatre, New York University 2020
Ackerman Institute for the Family — Core Curriculum in Couple and Family Therapy 2024
IFS Online Circle: Foundations of the Internal Family Systems Model, IFS Institute, 2023
Basic Training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), The Center for Excellence in EMDR, 2023
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #P120555, NY
rates
Individual therapy:
$200 per 50-min session
Relationship/family therapy:
$250 per 50-minute session
Contact information
Email: shao@triskapsychotherapy.com
Languages spoken (other than English): Mandarin, Cantonese