About Huiling
It’s time.
Finally. After much external persuasion and internal deliberation, you’re here.
Perhaps you’re trying to find a therapist for the first time.
Or maybe it’s time for a change – a different therapist, alternative methods, a better outcome.
But you wonder, “Who could that right therapist be?” It’s important to answer crucial questions.
So, you start your “Therapist Wish List.”
Who has trained, practiced, and become the best in the offered services and specialties, as many former and current clients have testified?
Who can do effective and efficient work with you, helping you achieve goals and making leaps and bounds on your therapy journey?
Who has traveled your road before – who has done the healing herself and can help you avoid “the blind leading the blind”?
But you’re not finished; you need someone who really “gets” you.
Who has experienced something similar or exactly what you’re going through right now, so she can better identify with you personally?
Who can deeply understand what you’re going through and articulate for you – when you haven’t yet found the words?
Who can connect with you with the presence, empathy, and unconditional regard modeled by Christ Himself?
And you need someone who demands the utmost from herself.
Whose ultimate goal is to bring about your most optimal healing result at the end of every session?
Who is always present to cheer you up and celebrate you for every baby step you take toward whole-person wellness?
Who, at the end of the day, holds unwavering hope for you to live more fully, one session at a time?
Who’s also a bit weird, eccentric, whose life experiences are unusual, who’s direct, and at times, a bit too bold – who is, lives, and works… out of the box?
And someone whose story resonates with you…
Joining You – for Good
I was in my late 20s when I came to America. After a couple of decades living here, I’ve experienced an abundance of seasons and lessons in life.
I’ll always be grateful to the many people who have entered my life at each stage and had a positive impact on me.
And now, I want to be that person on your current journey. That is my calling from God, and I’m honored to be doing it!
About Me
From China to the United States…
I grew up in a family and society in mainland China where girls were not valued equally with boys. I soon learned that my parents would customarily give everything to my brother and send me to join someone else’s family.
As a kid, I worked desperately hard, hoping to gain approval. Maybe deep down, I hoped things would be different if I were just “good.”
My first epiphany came at age 17, on a scorching summer day, while I was straining my back working the rice fields and suffering from a terrible headache.
I experienced a powerful urge to leave that place and the life of my parents. I felt I’d be stifled to death if I stayed.
But where could I go?
“I could go to college, since I will be in my senior year of high school soon and will need to participate in the College Entrance Examinations.”
But college was a remote idea in 1980s to a teenage girl growing up in a Chinese village. I’d never seen or heard of anyone in my limited circle who had gone to college.
That idea stayed with me. After working very hard my senior year, I scored the best in my class on College Entrance Examinations. That opened doors for my ongoing exploration of life opportunities, as I was admitted to a prestigious university in China to study English at a time when all my educational cost was covered by the state. There, my western English teachers exposed me to different ways of thinking and living.
My Own American Dream
At Thanksgiving in 1998, I came to America with deep gratitude and excitement.
My earliest acquaintances were Christians, who helped my husband, my four-year-old daughter, and me tremendously. They manifested a sense of peace and joy that immediately attracted me; I had never felt that way but felt a strong desire to share that experience.
After earning my master’s degree in Computer Science, I moved to Boulder Colorado for an IT job in 2002. Meanwhile, I joined a local Bible study group and was baptized by the end of the year. I became a regular churchgoer and immersed myself heavily in church activities.
That lasted for a while.
But problems persisted…
Relationship difficulties with my teenage daughter, sharpening marital conflicts, physical exhaustion from the various roles, internal and external voices of criticism – even condemnation.
Where was the power of God’s word? Where was the abundant life my Lord had promised me?
The Lord heard me – and He gave me a blunt answer: all the unsettling resulted from my desire to hold my foot in both worlds.
I was startled. “Lord, are you talking to me?”
But I realized He was absolutely right. That revelation marked the beginning of my true conversion and full surrender of my life to God.
In 2009, I entered the Master of Divinity program at Denver Seminary. After five years (15 semesters), I completed my program and graduated with honors.
In 2015, I started the ordination process with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Del Cristo Presbytery. With the help of the Preparation for Ministry Committee, I explored my passion and gifting.
Later that year, I enrolled in Denver Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I graduated in the spring of 2019.
From counseling practicum at Denver Family Institute, to internship and pre-licensure work at Cornerstone Christian Counseling, to the private practice as a fully licensed professional counselor under the business of Integrated Christian Counseling and Consulting, I have continued to grow my competence and confidence as an excellent therapist, with a variety of ongoing post-graduate trainings and steady weekly caseload.
From textbook education to living life…
Through all these years, I haven’t been getting only a textbook education.
I’ve also persevered through a contentious divorce, a great mixed-race remarriage, blended family issues, the pain of an estranged child, and much more.
I sought therapy for myself and took advantage of many personal sessions to work through some of the darkest times of my life. I share the rest of my story on my Services and Specialties pages.
When not working, I love gardening, hiking, cooking, spending time with family and friends, reading, meditating, and traveling the world.