Safe Space
Counseling Services
Online & In-Person · Maryland
Family pressure. Identity struggles. The weight of expectations you never chose.
Safe Space is an Asian-led therapy practice in Maryland with therapists who understand culture, identity, and lived experience so you can feel fully seen and supported.
✓ Free · Confidential · No pressure
✓ Mandarin · Hindi · Odia · Kannada
SOUND FAMILIAR?
You've Heard These Your Whole Life
Growing up Asian in America means carrying expectations that most therapists don't understand. The pressure to succeed. The guilt of wanting more. The silence around pain. The feeling that you're never enough no matter how much you achieve.
At Safe Space, our therapists didn't just study these experiences in a textbook. They've lived them. They understand the weight of filial piety, the stigma of mental health in Asian families, and what it means to feel caught between two worlds.
You deserve a therapist who doesn't make you feel like a cultural case study. You deserve someone who already gets it.
"Why aren't you a doctor yet?"
The relentless pressure to perform in school, career, and life while your own needs go unspoken.
"Don't tell anyone our problems."
Carrying family secrets, guilt about seeking help, and the shame of not being 'strong enough' on your own.
"Just don't think about it."
Anxiety, depression, and emotional pain that your family doesn't believe in or won't talk about.
"You don't belong here."
Navigating racism, microaggressions, and the exhaustion of code-switching between two worlds every day.
"You've changed too much."
Feeling too American for your parents, too Asian for your peers never fully belonging anywhere.
"You should be grateful."
Burnout from being the 'good child,' the first-gen success story, the one who holds everything together.
"You don't have to carry everything alone. And you don't have to explain your pain to someone who doesn't get it."
— Safe Space Counseling Services, Maryland
Therapy Rooted in Your Culture
BUILT FOR YOUR EXPERIENCE
Your therapist shouldn't need a crash course in your culture. Ours already speak your language, understand your family dynamics, and know the pressures you face.
Chinese Counseling Services
Mandarin-Speaking Therapists Available
✓ Carrying the pressure of being the "perfect" child
✓ Feeling guilty for wanting your own life instead of your parents' plan
✓ Struggling to express emotions in a family where feelings stay unspoken
✓ Navigating identity between Chinese and American worlds
South Asian Counseling Services
Hindi · Odia · Kannada Available
✓ Family expectations around marriage, career, and who you 'should' be
✓ The loneliness of being the first in your family to struggle openly
✓ Balancing traditional values with who you're becoming
✓ The silent pressure to never let your parents down
Whatever You're Carrying We Can Hold It With You
WHAT WE HELP WITH
You don't need to be in crisis to ask for help. These are experiences many of our clients navigate quietly.
Cultural & Family Challenges
Navigating two worlds at once
✓ Family expectations and pressure
✓ Intergenerational conflict (parents vs. children raised in different cultures)
✓ Immigration adjustment and acculturation stress
✓ Cultural identity struggles (feeling "in-between")
✓ Academic and career pressure
We offer multilingual support in Mandarin, Hindi, Odia, and Kannada — so you can express yourself comfortably in the language that feels like home.
Relationships & Identity
Navigating two worlds at once
✓ Relationship and family conflicts
✓ Communication challenges across cultures
✓ LGBTQIA+ identity within cultural contexts
✓ Identity exploration (Who am I between cultures?)
✓ Boundary setting with family and community
Emotional Struggles & Trauma
Holding space for what's been carried silently
✓Anxiety and constant worry
✓ Depression and emotional heaviness
✓ Burnout from work, school, or caregiving
✓ Trauma & PTSD (including migration-related trauma)
✓ Childhood trauma
✓ Grief and loss (including leaving home, family, or identity behind)
Clinical Diagnoses
Professional care with cultural understanding
✓ADHD
✓ Depression
✓ Anxiety disorders
✓ Trauma-related conditions
HOW WE HELP
Personalized Care, Culturally Informed
Every client is different. We combine proven methods with deep cultural understanding to provide both practical and emotional support at your pace, on your terms.
Individual Therapy
Personalized one-on-one support for anxiety, depression, trauma, and personal growth adapted to your cultural context and life experiences.
Culturally Informed Approach
Every session is grounded in cultural understanding. We don't just treat symptoms we honor your background, family dynamics, and lived experience.
Couples Counseling
Rebuild connection and communication using the Gottman Method including cross-cultural dynamics, arranged-marriage challenges, and intergenerational expectations.
Teen & Child Counseling
Helping young people navigate school pressure, identity, and the unique stress of growing up between cultures with practical and emotional support.
Brainspotting (BSP)
Access deep emotional pain your family taught you to bury a powerful method beyond traditional talk therapy for processing trauma and stress.
Multilingual Sessions
Express yourself fully in Mandarin, Hindi, Odia, or Kannada no more lost-in-translation therapy. Heal in the language that feels like home.
YOUR THERAPISTS
Alice (XiaoRan) Zhao, LCPC
MD Board approved Supervisor
License Number LC11656
Alice specializes in brainspotting (BSP), trauma, and speaks fluent Mandarin
Sarah Deludos, LCPC, NCC,
MD Board Approved Supervisor
License Number LC12280
Sarah helps clients navigate mental health challenges with a focus on resilience and growth.
Aanchal Mohanty, LGPC
License Number LGP15203
Aanchal works with South Asians and speak fluent Hindi specializing in ACT
Mark (QingYuan) Wang, LGPC
License Number LGP15404
Marks specializes in life coaching and ACT and speaks fluent Mandarin.
Divya Saseendranath, LGPC
License Number LGP16572
Divya is a Maryland-licensed counselor specializing in trauma-informed care, anxiety, depression, grief, and emotional regulation.
Sarah Moss, LGPC
License Number LGP17049
Sarah's aim as a therapist is to help clients develop understanding and compassion for themselves and to encourage growth.
Why Asian & Immigrant Clients Choose Safe Space
THE DIFFERENCE
Our therapists aren't just culturally trained they've lived the immigrant, bicultural, and Asian-American experience themselves.
Asian-Led Team
Sessions in Mandarin, Hindi, Odia, and Kannada. Express yourself fully no more struggling to find the right English words.
Speak Your Language
We Already Understand
You won't need to explain filial piety, "saving face," or why your parents' approval matters so much. We know.
Brainspotting, trauma-informed care, ADHD support, and the Gottman Method real tools for deep healing with cultural sensitivity.
Specialized Expertise
Start Therapy in 3 Simple Steps
START HERE
No complicated intake. No long waiting lists. Just a simple path to feeling understood.
Book a Free Consultation
Schedule a free, confidential consultation. No commitment. No pressure. Just a warm conversation to see if we're the right fit for you.
Get Matched with the Right Therapist
We'll connect you with a therapist who understands your background, speaks your language, and specializes in what you need.
Begin Therapy
Start therapy on your terms online or in-person. At your pace. In your language. With someone who truly gets it.
✓ No pressure ✓Confidential ✓Guided support
Insurance We Accept
Focus on healing, not billing. We're in-network with major Maryland insurers.
BCBS
Carefirst
Cigna
Aetna
UHC
Availability
We work around busy schedules including evening hours and online sessions.
⏱️ Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
📍 Online & In-Person Sessions Available
🛡️ 100% Confidential Your Privacy is Protected
JHU / Wellfleet
You've Been Strong Long Enough. Let Us Help.
You don't need to have it all figured out to start therapy. You just need to be ready for someone to finally listen in your language, within your culture, without judgment.
The free consultation is just a conversation. No forms. No commitment. Just a first step.