Mihoko Kusachi, LMHC

Mihoko Kusachi brings a compassionate, strength-based approach to counseling, focused on helping people find hope and the courage to make meaningful changes in their lives. She creates an open, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore thoughts and feelings and work toward greater authenticity and purpose. She emphasizes reciprocity and mutual growth in the therapeutic relationship, offering support and empowerment as clients identify and use their own inner resources.

Mihoko grew up in Japan and completed studies in Tokyo and the San Francisco Bay Area. Her education includes a master’s degree in counseling with a concentration on rehabilitation of people with disabilities. She has a broad background of professional and life experience across Japan, Australia, and the United States. Over more than two decades she has worked as a social worker and case manager in clinical settings in the San Francisco Bay Area and on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, and she has provided mental health counseling as a licensed therapist for 10 years.

She has supported people of all ages, including children and adults, with and without disabilities, addressing challenges such as depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, gender identity concerns, cultural adjustment, guilt and shame, self-esteem, motivation, loneliness, and questions of purpose. Her clinical practice also includes work with stress, addictions, relationships and family issues, eating and sleeping problems, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other complex concerns.

Mihoko’s clinical approach is integrative and body-mind oriented. She draws from client-centered, cognitive behavioral, existential, somatic, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, solution-focused, and trauma-focused therapies to tailor work to each person’s strengths and preferences. In sessions she may use sensory-based exercises, relaxation, and self-regulation techniques alongside cognitive reflection and exploration of personal history to help clients gain insight and practical strategies.

Her practice is informed by a social justice perspective and a commitment to cultural responsiveness. Having grown up with firsthand experience of being underserved, she is attentive to the ways that race, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, and socioeconomic status intersect. She views her role as a collaborative partner, helping people discover or rediscover inner resources and practical paths forward. She holds an LMHC, which is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.