Dennis Hong, PhD, AMFT

Hi there! I’m Dennis Hong, and I am an AMFT (associate number 122355). I am an LGBTQ+ ally and polyam- and kink-aware.

My professional focus is on relationships that fall beyond the stereotypical norms dictated by our society. Perhaps you and your partner decline to check the simplified boxes of “male” or “female.” Perhaps you are exploring consensual non-monogamy. Perhaps your relationship unit is more than a couple. Perhaps you are experimenting with kink. Or perhaps all of the above.

If your relationship preferences are non-conforming or simply non-labelable, you may face challenges of understanding and acceptance from friends and loved ones, counseling professionals, or maybe even yourself. My goal is to help you manage these challenges coming from the outside while working on and strengthening your relationship from the inside.

My preferred theoretical model is a blend of Solutions-Oriented Brief Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy — Solutions-Oriented Therapy to help you uncover any quick fixes we can start working on right away, Narrative Therapy to help you rewrite the uncomfortable stories you tell yourself because of what society deems appropriate or inappropriate, and Emotionally Focused Therapy to help you strengthen your relationships with the people who are important in your life.

With my background in both the sciences and the arts, I straddle left-brained logical reasoning and right-brained emotional processing in my work. My belief is that as thinking, feeling human beings, all aspects of our psyche must be considered when working to improve our relationships and our own personal mental health.

Above all else, I am a practitioner of collaborative therapy. I believe that you are the expert in your own life, and it is not my role to tell you what’s wrong and what to fix. Rather, I am here to listen to you, to offer insights when I can, and ultimately to help you develop the solutions that work best for you.