Who I Work With
I am particularly drawn to serve folks with whom I share some aspect of community, whether it is from a place of social justice activism, spirituality, sexual diversity, or the altogether too-common experience of being targeted for marginalization. However, this does not exclude working across difference, and I also find myself enriched by learning with and from the experiences, challenges, and joys experienced from different perspectives: sometimes the synthesis of very different perspectives can lend itself to some of the most powerful work that I have been privileged to witness or guide. Below is a sample of some aspects of identity that I find resonance with, and some of the issues where I feel I may be particularly helpful
Some Identities:
- People of mixed ethnicity
- BIPOC folks (with a social justice lens and critical awareness)
- Social justice organizers and allies
- Sexually diverse folk: poly, consensual non-monogamy, kinky relationships, ace relationships, sex worker welcoming.
- LGBQ+: Queer, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, allies and more
- Trans* ally. (Also non-binary, non-conforming, gender-queer and others)
Some Individual Issues:
- Anxiety and stress
- Self-acceptance and identity exploration
- Trauma, including developmental, historical and legacies of trauma
- Meaning-making and surviving in an oppressive world
- Coping and burnout as an organizer, worker, and/or caregiver
- Exploration of bicultural and / or immigrant backgrounds
- Life transitions and adjusting to big changes
Some Relationship Issues:
- Communication: listening, speaking, sitting with others
- Exploring and reaffirming relationship and consent
- Working with and through jealousy
- Opening up (or closing down) relationships
- Exploring, addressing and healing past wounds
- Navigating changes to or the end of relationships
- Cross-ethnic, racial, and cultural relationship issues
Why Work With Me?
As a man of mixed Asian and white ethnicity, I have particular sensitivity to areas of multiple or competing identities, with some personal awareness of some of the issues facing of people of Asian descent. My life experience has given me an understanding of being scrutinized and sometimes targeted by oppressive systems, and while each of our stories are different, this has taught me the importance of attending to each person’s story and context. I carry this understanding into my work as a therapist, and I strive to meet each client where they are in order to help them get to (and sometimes discover) where they want to go.
William Ma, LMFT 