Dr. Chia-Ying Chou

Chia-Ying Chou, PhD, (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and director of the San Francisco Center for Compassion Focused Therapies. She offers trauma-informed individual and group psychotherapy as well as compassion-based workshops to adults of all ages. Additionally, as an expert in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Hoarding Disorder, she offers training and supervision to clinicians worldwide.

Dr. Chou is a first-generation immigrant in the United States, having been born and raised in Taiwan. She obtained her master’s degree and license as a clinical psychologist in Taiwan prior to completing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at University College London in the United Kingdom. Dr. Chou’s doctoral research focused on trauma and symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), specifically how trauma is remembered and processed in the mind and the body. Dr. Chou came to San Francisco in 2014 for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). For three years, she completed extensive training on the assessment and treatment of Hoarding Disorder. Dr. Chou has since treated hundreds of individuals experiencing hoarding and cluttering issues and is one of the leading experts in the treatment of Hoarding Disorder and related issues. Her background in trauma and expertise in CFT shape her perspective on hoarding to be one that is humanistic and trauma-sensitive.

Dr. Chou is a CFT trainer recognized by the Compassionate Mind Foundation in the United Kingdom. She is also one of the few hoarding experts in the world, who has both rich clinical experiences and active involvement in research. Dr. Chou provides training workshops, supervision and consultation to clinicians and professionals who are interested in developing expertise in applying CFT in their clinical work and/or supporting people experiencing hoarding. As a scientist practitioner, Dr. Chou leads and participates in research projects examining the psychological mechanisms associated with trauma and hoarding and ways to improve treatment. These research involvements inform her clinical work with the latest scientific information and insights, while her clinical experiences also enable her research endeavors to be rooted in the real-world.

As a Buddhist who received lay ordination in 2018 in the Soto Zen tradition, Dr. Chou’s approach to professional services is intimately aligned with her spiritual practice. She aspires to embody compassion and uprightness as a mental health professional and approaches “helping” with respect and appreciation of the innate completeness of the ones “helped.” Dr. Chou’s clinical work also has a strong emphasis on the mind and body connection. Her interests in somatic therapeutic approaches, as well as her personal practice of 5Rhythms dance have had great influence on her approach to psychotherapy.