Soo Jin Lee's Approach to Healing and Selfhood Through Storytelling
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Time to read 2 min
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Hi! I’m Soo Jin Lee (she/her), a licensed therapist, author, and community servant based in Los Angeles, CA. I’m the Executive Director of Yellow Chair Collective and the co-founder of Entwine Community, a nonprofit offering low-fee and pro bono mental health care for the multicultural community. A fun fact: I love hiking and getting lost in nature, it’s where I do my best thinking and reconnect with myself when life gets overwhelming.
My own story inspired my path. As a 1.5 generation Korean American woman and eldest daughter in an immigrant family, I know how heavy it can feel to carry invisible burdens. I spent years trying to be "perfect", successful, selfless, strong; all while hiding how lonely and overwhelmed I felt inside. Eventually, I realized that healing wasn’t just personal. It is communal. That led me to become a therapist, build culturally-responsive mental health programs, and write Where I Belong, a book exploring Asian American identity, trauma, and healing through storytelling. My work is deeply rooted in helping others heal intergenerational trauma, embrace their full selves, and redefine what wellness and belonging can look like especially for Asian American and multicultural communities.
My Korean American identity is at the heart of everything I create. I often write and speak from the perspective of someone who straddles cultures, languages, and generations... Someone who has grieved, healed, and reimagined what family and selfhood can be. I believe our stories deserve to be told not in whispers, but in bold, nuanced voices. My work is about reclaiming space for those voices.
"Your healing matters. And you don’t have to do it alone."
That healing isn't linear! Especially when you're breaking cycles that have lasted generations. I wish more people understood that mental health work for AAPI and immigrant communities isn’t just about coping tools. It’s about cultural survival, honoring ancestors, and imagining freer futures. And that therapists aren’t immune from doing the deep, messy, liberating work ourselves.
One of my proudest moments was seeing readers come up to me with Where I Belong in their hands, tears in their eyes, saying, “I felt like you were writing about me.” It reminded me why I do what I do. I also love those quiet, reflective moments whether journaling, prepping for a workshop, or walking with a client through a breakthrough, where I can feel healing unfolding in real time.
At YCC, we've been dreaming up a new creative project that blends storytelling, mindfulness, and voice work (think ASMR, mindfulnesMes exercise albums). The first mindfulness album is available on the Yellow Chair Collective Youtube page!
You can find our work at @yellowchaircollective on Instagram, TikTok, and on the Yellow Chair Collective Podcast, or visit yellowchaircollective.com and entwinecommunity.org.
I’m available at @soojinlee.mft, and you can find my book Where I Belong wherever books are sold.
