My Professional Philosophy
I’m passionate about collaborating with adults looking for support with mood or anxiety symptoms, health conditions, relationships, and various cultural or life adjustments.
In my opinion, no challenge is too great for us to cope with as a team, whether you're looking for help setting boundaries and saying "no," communicating more effectively, resolving conflicts with loved ones, navigating questions of identity and intersectionality, attaining your health goals, accepting or overcoming life's various curve balls — mental, emotional, and physical.
If you don't think you can face your fears or cope with these challenges just yet, that's okay. I believe you have a lot of strengths, and I’ll work with you to realize those strengths until you get where you want to go.
I really do believe that everyone needs help sometimes, but everyone deserves help and understanding always.
My Clinical Orientation
As an eclectic therapist, I draw from several theoretical frameworks:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Person-Centered Therapy
Mindfulness Therapy
Strength-Based Therapy
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Multicultural Therapy
Queer- and Gender-Affirming Therapy
I work primarily with individuals and couples, but also have experience with groups, crisis intervention, and addictions.
Adults of all ages are welcome, regardless of racial identity, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or other history or life experience.
I come from a pre-medical background but strongly value the holistic mind-body connection, so for those who may be interested, I welcome the use of expressive arts — art- or music-informed therapy — to enhance our work together. I’m always happy to invite creativity into sessions.
I embrace healthcare technology and have practiced virtually since 2017. While not right for everyone, phone and video sessions are a fantastic modality when used appropriately, and can reduce barriers to healthcare access for so many.
My Background and Practice Mission
Charlene C. Chow, LMHC, MPH is Telemental Health Certified by Person Centered Tech Inc.
I’ve served clients with a mental health focus since 2013, a public health focus since 2010, and a medical focus since the 1990s.
I am registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC #10333), in New York as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (#013762), in the District of Columbia as a Licensed Professional Counselor (#PRC200012641), in Ohio as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (#E.2505395), in Florida as a Telehealth Provider (TPMC3719), in South Carolina as a Professional Counselor Telehealth Provider (TLC #167 PC), and in Vermont as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor with Interim Telehealth Registration (#068.0136730TELE).
I hold a M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine from the Boston University School of Medicine, as well as a M.P.H. in Health Management & Policy from Drexel University. Prior to that, I earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine.
Apart from private practice, I’ve worked in outpatient group practices and hospital clinics, psychiatric urgent care centers, mobile crisis teams, and emergency department-based crisis intervention teams. I have experience in solo, group, and interdisciplinary settings. My day-to-day practice is informed by my education as well as more than two decades of clinical exposure in these medical and psychiatric settings.
Since founding my practice in 2017, my goal has always been to provide a safe, compassionate, collaborative atmosphere, where I can serve you based purely on your needs and goals.
In an ideal world, the therapeutic relationship would belong to the therapist and client alone, without interference from bureaucracy, managed care, or other third parties. I uphold this ideal by opting out of insurance networks, allowing me to work solely FOR and WITH you, my client.
This allows me to meet the highest standards for care and pursue health outcomes for clients that are based on ethical guidelines and clinical best practices, not profit margins. This also means you have the power to opt out of being diagnosed with a mental health disorder, and thus reject participating in the larger system of oppression that is medical colonialism, ableism, and gatekeeping.
That said, I acknowledge the (often outsized) role that insurance plays in helping fund therapy for many folx, and for that reason I will — gladly and without judgment — provide superbills to anyone needing to utilize out-of-network coverage. At the end of the day, we live in an imperfect world after all, and I’ll do what I can to support you in that.
Nonetheless it is important that all clients are fully informed of the potential impacts of insurance involvement: that insurers require you be assigned a formal mental health diagnosis; that they may audit your medical records and reject or claw back your reimbursement at any time if they deem your sessions ‘not medically necessary’; and that your diagnosis may affect you in unpredictable ways down the road, such as when applying for life insurance or in the course of working for the government or military.
Last but not least: in my personal as much as my professional life, I value diversity and inclusivity, and pursue self-actualization through creativity, productivity, healthful movement, mindfulness, and freedom from suffering.