About Angel Tang, LMFT (she/her)

Angel Tang, LMFT is a California-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provides trauma therapy online throughout California.

My work as a trauma therapist has been shaped by my own experiences growing up in an immigrant family, my clinical work with survivors of trauma, and my commitment to trauma healing and community liberation.

I have worked with people experiencing identity-related trauma, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, life transitions, family distress, and self-worth complexities, as well as survivors of sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, violent crime, and intergenerational trauma. I’m especially passionate about supporting LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC adults who are navigating the intersections of identity, culture, race, gender, sexuality, and belonging.

My approach integrates Brainspotting, EMDR, mindfulness and self-compassion, Liberation Psychology, and Critical Race Theory. Through an anti-oppressive, identity-affirming, liberation-focused approach, I work alongside you to understand how trauma, ancestral history, cultural experiences, and systems of oppression have shaped how you see yourself and move through the world. Our sessions together create space to process what happened, reconnect with your identity and sense of belonging, and build greater self-compassion, autonomy, and freedom to live more authentically.

Education & Licensure

Angel Tang, LMFT holds an active California license #150187.

I graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where I received Bachelor’s in Public Health Sciences.

I then discovered my passion for caring for others’ well-being and graduated with my Master’s of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Palo Alto University.

I believe learning is a lifelong process. While my formal education may have ended, I’m continually learning, growing, and deepening my understanding of the world we live in.

Clinical Experience

The majority of my experience has been working with identity-related trauma and post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, life transitions, identity issues, and self-worth.

I served at residential treatment centers for individuals experiencing substance use dependency and co-occurring mental illness, and at intensive outpatient treatment centers.

I’ve worked with high-acuity youths, teens, and families experiencing family distress, social-emotional challenges, and case management needs in school-based and outpatient settings.

Clinical Trainings

Brainspotting Phases 1 & 2 led by Dr. Tracy Gantlin Monroy

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) led by Lisa Hayes, MSW, LISW-S

Liberation Psychology

Critical Race Theory

Identity, Belonging, and the Intersection of Culture, Race, Gender, and Sexuality

Mindfulness and Self-compassion

Whole-person-centric approach

My Treatment Specializations

• Sexual Abuse

• Racial & Intergenerational Trauma

• Identity-related Trauma

• Low self-worth & self-esteem

If you’ve always been the overachiever, perfectionist, helper, or outsider, you may seem fine on the outside, while on the inside, you’re quietly feeling lonely, exhausted, or isolated. Feeling a sense of dread, family expectations, cultural pressures, and the weight of navigating a world that doesn’t always affirm all of who you are.

What happened was not your fault, and your experiences matter.

You might be feeling…
Ashamed or responsible for what happened to you
Unseen, misunderstood, or lonely—even around people you love
Afraid of failing or not being “good enough”
Lost, stuck, heavy, or like an imposter
Exhausted from always being the strong one
Empty despite your accomplishments
Dependent on approval to feel worthy or whole
Pushing aside your emotions to “keep the peace”
Code-switching or changing parts of yourself to fit in
Struggling with identity, belonging, or being yourself
Carrying family, cultural, or generational expectations

You’ve achieved so much, but fulfillment still feels out of reach. You’re tired of proving, pleasing, and pushing through—and you’re ready to reconnect with yourself without losing who you are in the process.

I see you.

It is time to give yourself permission to live as your authentic self. In sessions together, you have a palce without judgement and begin to learn what confident and self-compassion can look like. For YOU.

How my passion for trauma work developed

“Don’t cause any trouble” was the cultural expectation on me as my immigrant family with limited resources raised me. Throughout my life, I saw firsthand how systemic silencing of sexual abuse survivors, gendered oppression, and intergenerational traumas can impact lives and harm relationships. The collective stories and strength of fellow survivors have deeply influenced my commitment to trauma healing and liberation work.

I understand how difficult it is to have loved ones deny your reality your whole life.

I deeply believe that liberation is for everyone. In working with clients, I have the honor to hold sacred space for pain, fear, rage, and grief for living in marginalized experiences and resist the violence and deprivation that systems of power perpetually inflict on humanity. I embrace the privilege of being trusted with the rawness of people’s suffering and pain.

What therapy sessions with me feel like

We go as deep as you are willing to go.

We will learn about ways trauma impacted your nervous system, and normalize, give compassion, and witness your body’s responses. Sometimes, things will go slow, and sometimes they go fast. We will work together to trust your process.

I will explore and affirm your feelings because all feelings are valid and mean something, and they guide us to understand you. In the social justice and anti-oppressive therapeutic framework, I work with your consent and trust your autonomy. If you are willing, we may explore ways you can also participate in individual and social activism, deconstruct dominant-culture concepts, redeeming your rightful identities, and empower yourself.

Ultimately, we will work together to help you trust YOU again.

I’m eager to join you on your healing journey and attune to your needs and growth. Together, we can nurture a path toward reclaiming your stories, liberation from trauma, and empowerme

My Philosophy

BIPOC Lives Matter

As a second-gen Asian American, I center my practice around BIPOC voices and lived experiences under racial oppression and white supremacy. I honor and uphold Indigenous sovereignty. I continually examine my own privileges and white-ness, both personally and in my community. I commit to anti-racist advocacy and to offering my work in spaces that nurture liberation. My path is one of continual learning, unlearning, and accountability.

Colonial Constructs of Therapy are Harmful

You’re the expert on you. Your struggles aren’t your fault. I don’t prioritize diagnosis unless that’s something you’re looking for, as I’m more interested in deep understanding, witnessing, and healing. I’m committed to unlearning and decolonizing my approaches, adapt, and to co-creating a space with you to help you feel seen, supported, and grounded to show up fully.

Neurodiversity is Natural

All neurotypes are whole, capable, and deserving of care. Mental health work isn’t about compliance or correction, but about meeting needs, increasing accessibility, and navigating a world that too often misunderstands neurodivergence. Disability justice rejects capitalism’s demand for productivity and affirms that our worth isn’t conditional. We are enough, as we are.

Gender is Not Binary, Sexuality is Expansive

I affirm all gender identities and expressions. I will not make assumptions about your gender or pronouns, and will support your process in obtaining a letter for affirming medical care. Queerness, kink, BDSM, asexuality, polyamory, ENM, and other consent-based sexual expressions are part of the human experience. I encourage clients to explore their desires fully without shame.

Healing is NOT Another Thing for You to Do Perfectly

You don’t have to understand everything, process everything, or become a completely different person to be worthy of care. And you don’t have to turn healing into another goal you have to accomplish.

I don’t believe therapy should become another place where you feel like you’re failing, falling behind, or not doing enough.

You are not a project to perfect.

Healing can be messy, nonlinear, slow, and deeply human. There is room for all of it.

I Believe in Your Capacity for Choice

Rather than telling you who you should become, therapy is a place to help you reconnect with your own voice, values, boundaries, stories, desires, and sense of autonomy.

You Don't Have to Leave Parts of Yourself at the Door

Race, culture, gender, sexuality, ancestral wounds, family history, socioeconomic experiences, disability, and other parts of who you are can shape how you experience the world, and they all have a place in therapy.
Therapy should have room for the complicated parts—the contradictions, anger, grief, uncertainty, joy, resistance, and parts of yourself you may have learned to hide.

Liberation Includes Anger... and Joy

Anger isn’t automatically something that needs to be managed. Sometimes anger carries information about boundaries, injustice, grief, or something that wasn’t okay.

I believe healing can be about more than learning how to survive. It can be about creating more room to live.

You deserve moments that aren’t about fixing, performing, proving, or getting through the next thing.

Joy is not a distraction from healing. Joy can be part of liberation.

How I live out my passion as a therapist

I deeply value the gift of connection. I find fulfillment in walking alongside others in pain, suffering, and healing. Everyone’s journey to wholeness will be at their own pace, and I feel honored to hold space for clients and witness their healing.

I listen. And I affirm experiences. I want survivors of abuse and crimes to know that your stories matter. What happened to you was not your fault.

I honor the whole person, including all aspects of gender identity, affectional orientation, culture, race, neurotypes, abilities, and social location.

Outside of being a therapist, I enjoy walks, matcha-making, and reading. W

Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

619-719-5567

angel@crescentshorespsychotherapy.com

I live and work on unceded land of Kumeyaay Nation.
To learn more and join me in supporting Indigenous communities,
visit Native Governance Center, Museum of Us, and Native Lands.