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Yi Zhang

Current Student, Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

I received my undergraduate degree in psychology from Beijing Normal University in 2022. Though my undergraduate training was research focused, I gained clinical experience through my work as a mental health hotline responder. This experience, (which exposed me to a variety of different clients), piqued my interest in working as a clinician.

I was drawn to BGSP because of its focus on psychoanalysis and advertised experiential learning. I chose the mental health counseling program so that I could pursue my LMHC and learn about practice instead of pure theory. The most unique aspect of the BGSP education has been the heavy emphasis on training analysis and supervision, as well as process learning. The school offers a unique theory and way of practice. My favorite class has been the fieldwork seminar as I learned a lot about intervention through class interaction. I am a current intern at the Italian Home for Children. I have received supportive supervision at the Italian Home and have learned a lot through exposure to complex cases. After graduation, I hope to continue to work with children as a clinician. Some of my hobbies include cooking, video games, and comedy.

Alumni Profiles

Michael Birnkrant, PsyaD, LMHC

“I look forward to growing a successful independent private practice as a psychoanalyst and to continuing my journey to learn more about the deepest mysteries of the human condition.”
Tracy D. Galloway, MA, Esq

“As a divorce litigator, I am continuously immersed in the profound emotions of clients, opposing counsel, court personnel, and judges.”
Robin Rayford, MALLP

“I have been active on boards and committees that provide opportunities for applied psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic approaches to mental health awareness and wellness needs.”
Gabriela Pérez-Gil del Valle, MA

“In Mexico City, where I am from, I had been trained as a Humanistic Gestalt and Existential therapist and had been working for quite a while as a psychologist.”
R. Danielle Egan, PsyaD, PhD

“As a professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at St. Lawrence University, I have written about and taught psychoanalytic ideas for a long time.”
Joon ho Lee, PsyaD, Cert. Psya, NCPsyA

“I came to Boston from South Korea in February 2005 to enroll in the Master’s program [...] BGSP offered just what I was looking for.”
Junichi Torigoe, PsyaD, NCPsyA

“In every class, I practice the BGSP approach to education. I have my students sit in a circle in which they discuss the theme of the class based on their experience of it.”
Claudia Sheftel Luiz, PsyaD, Cert. Psya, EdM

“After training at BGSP, while enjoying a successful private practice and raising two daughters with my husband, I started writing an advice column for The Daily News Transcript called 'Claudia Confidentially.'”
Sarah Smith, PsyaD, LMHC

“I graduated from BGSP's Masters in Psychoanalytic Counseling program in 2010 and went on to earn two years of post-masters experience working as an out-patient clinician for Arbour Counseling and the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy.”
Frederick Stecker, DMin, PsyaD

“Frederick Stecker received his Doctor of Psychoanalysis in the Study of Violence from the BGSP in 2008, and has served on the board of the BGSP for 15 years concluding his last five years service as chair.”