Dr. Heesoo "Karina" Kim

Dr. Kim is one of the kindest people I've ever met. Her compassion always astonishes me and her optimism inspires me to be a better person. The perspectives that she shares never fails to help open my own thoughts in a way that allows me to have some peace. I've worked with her for the past 14 months and I can honestly say that she's made such a huge difference on how I view life and how I approach situations. She's seriously such a blessing and I'm so glad to have had her as my therapist.

My sessions with Dr. Kim have always been helpful and illuminating as to how I approach my life and the challenges I’m facing. Weekly sessions have been instrumental in bringing about significant change, because it keeps me accountable. Dr. Kim is also able to oversee my progress week after week, and I feel that I have a strong support system because she is in my life. Live chat sessions are also a useful format as it lets me gather my thoughts and I am able to express myself at my own pace and without any pressure. This is a particularly good option for an introvert like me. Overall, I have grown as a person in the past year or so being in therapy and it is one of the most worthwhile decisions I have ever made in my adult life. Thank you Dr. Kim for your expertise and enduring kindness, of which I’ll always be grateful for having received it.

I’ve been working with Dr. Kim for a couple of years and she has always been a listening ear without judgement. I always feel comfortable sharing with her and she’s been one of my biggest supporters through dark times. Glad to say I’m doing much better now thanks to Dr. Kim’s help

5 stars!

Dr. Kim helped me tremendously in my struggle with body image, past abusive relationships, and other insecurities. I would recommend her to my closest family and friends. She was the first therapist I’ve worked with that made me feel comfortable and I felt I could open up to her much faster than others I’ve worked with. She is incredibly patient, and caring. I would love to work with her again.

Dr. Kim has been immensely helpful to me. I've had past trauma I had never opened up about prior to working with her. She was so incredibly kind, understanding, and supportive of me throughout the process. Working with her has helped me immensely through this and some other issues to get to the bottom of things and I finally feel comfortable with myself. I would highly recommend her to anyone wondering!

Dr. Kim is amazing and I’ve been going to her for years. Thank you, Dr. Kim!

Dr Kim provides a non judgmental ear and excellent constructive criticism with support. Highly recommend to anyone including professionals

I recommend her to several of my friends. A competent and kind professional

My experience with Dr. Kim has been awesome. She is a great listener and helped me when I felt stuck at a low point in my life. I am incredibly grateful for her assistance and advice.

I’ve been working with Dr.Kim for about 2 ish years now regarding struggles I have with adhd and overthinking and what not. I went through 3 therapists before her and am incredibly happy with how our sessions go. As a therapist I find her to be thoughtful , kind, patient, and highly adaptable. I would highly recommend anyone seeking out therapy to see her!

I am new to therapy and asking for help was a difficult step to take. That being said, I am so grateful that I found Dr. Kim who was extremely compassionate and exceeded my expectation on how much therapy could help me. She guided my understanding on a lot of the “whys” behind the issues I was struggling with and was super supportive. I also did an EMDR session with her for a personal trauma I was dealing with and it did wonders to my state of mind. She is a therapist who really goes above and beyond for her patients and I would strongly recommend for anyone who needs help to seek her guidance.

Karina is amazing! She’s very compassionate and understanding. She doesn’t treat you like a number but an actual person. She also makes sure to help you acknowledge and process what the root issues are. I can’t praise her enough!

I have worked with Dr Kim over last 2 + months to get over psychological trauma that resulted in constant panic attacks, depressive episodes, feelings of being stuck, isolated and powerless due to terrible job situation, problems at home and lack of social life caused by pandemic and moving to a new country.

She is the ONLY therapist (out of 8) I have worked with that have had an impact on my mental health and the progress I was able to make due to her guidance and work is so significant, I cannot fully express it in words. I still cannot believe how relieved I feel after having only 9 sessions. It is like a huge rock just fell from my shoulders and I feel free.

She has an incredibly calming voice that immediately puts you at ease. Her professionalism and knowledge is exceptional and she knows how to apply it effectively so you wont spend 3 years in therapy improving marginally or not improving at all. As I live with 7 hours difference from her, she has also made accommodations to make sure I have my session every week, which is made me feel valued and cared for on a whole another level.

I came to Dr Kim with very specific problems and I came out improving in other areas as well. On top of resolving panic attacks due to having a mountain accident that rendered me unable to do things I love most, and continuous depressive episodes that were coming back almost every month, she also taught me how to look inside myself and figure out how to listen to my needs and communicate them, how to assert myself and set boundaries with people. All aspects of my life and relationships have significantly improved because of Dr Kim.

I am incredibly thankful that I have found her and was able to go through this journey. She is an exceptional therapist!

Dr. Kim is incredibly insightful, kind, patient, skillful, and compassionate. We have had a couple of EMDR sessions, which have been nothing short of life-changing. My talk therapy with her has also been very powerful. Every day I am learning new things about myself and the way I think and behave, as well as gaining new strategies for moving forward in power and peace in my life.

Dr. Kim has helped me gain some much-needed control over my incredibly debilitating OCD. I am so incredibly thankful for her experience and her guidance. She is kind, patient, understanding, and easy to talk to. Highly recommend! :)

I’ve taken Dr. Kim’s help after my already existing issues exacerbated following the covid quarantines.

When i sent my form on BetterHelp, Dr. Kim found me from across the ocean and convinced me she could help. We started our therapy sessions and since then she’s been an incredible support system in my life. Not only brought a new perspective and made me see from other angles but definitely helped me put the pieces together. We worked on various issues and she is obviously competent in any of the areas mentioned in her profile but beyond that very insightful as well.

She is non-judgemental, understanding and very resourceful and also, have a soothing presence as a human being, I would strongly recommend taking her guidance.

I worked with Dr. Kim for only 8-9 weekly sessions and the change it made in me and my life was almost miraculous! I reached out for counseling with Dr. Kim because she specialized in trauma. I knew I needed a therapist who specialized in trauma and worked with modalities beyond talk therapy and CBT. As a Buddhist minister, spiritual companion, and career/life coach, I used multiple CBT-based approaches and meditation to try to help heal myself. It didn't work. ;)

The pandemic and personal issues resulting from the pandemic, including fear, anxiety, and anger at others' behaviors and thinking, triggered me regularly. My reaction to these triggers caused problems with my relationship due to my inability to see things clearly and not through a filter of past hurt. As someone in multiple high-risk categories, including an autoimmune disease and being 68, I felt vulnerable and unsafe. Those feelings triggered past traumas where feeling vulnerable, misunderstood, and not supported were buried in my body. I was aware of them and figured I had "handled" them because I logically thought everything out. But, obviously, I did not process them somatically.

Dr. Kim worked with me to identify multiple traumas from my past and then we did EMDR. After 5-6 sessions, including only 3 EMDR sessions, I had a major release of repressed emotions, and then things started clicking for me. I started to be aware of triggers as they happened and was able to acknowledge them without reacting in anger or repression/shutdown of emotions. Eventually, my understanding of what was happening enabled me to share my feelings with my partner in a neutral and less reactive way. Plus, I was able to not react in rage and anger at others' behavior so that I could pause and try to see the humanness and vulnerability in others, rather than being hyper vigilant, over protective, and defensive of my own health.

Dr. Kim's calm and caring way put me at ease in the first few minutes of us working together. She felt like a best friend who was able to compassionately listen while gently steering me to my own understanding. That ability is very rare. During 2020 and the first part of 2021, I was losing hope for my own ability to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.

Trauma is a life stealer. I had no idea. Now I'm so "tuned-in" to trauma and its prevalence during the pandemic, that I've already done a podcast (I'm a podcaster and author) on the subject and I'm also thinking about writing a book related to trauma and Buddhism. Not only was Dr. Kim the reason I now feel healed and ready to continue to help others, but she was also a teacher and guide into the complexities of trauma.

I highly recommend Dr. Kim. She is a rare find!

Dr. Kim has been my therapist for three months now. In that time period, I have made leaps and bounds in my healing. I am just astounded by her approach and the multiple modalities she uses to address trauma, validate emotions and provide multiple avenues for healing. I heard about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and its capabilities of rapidly healing PTSD however I was always hesitant about inquiring further and when I was ready for EMDR, I couldn’t find a qualified therapist to assist. I searched the web to find someone qualified and finally found Dr. Kim. EMDR is only one of the many tools in her arsenal that she uses in her therapy sessions. Our EMDR session left me with a new level of calm. Anxiety over issues that I had been dealing with for years seemed to simply disappear, it has been remarkable. I am in utter disbelief. With a doctorate in therapy and over 20 years of experience, Dr. Kim is an incredible gift to her patients. She has helped me more than I could have ever imagined, and I am grateful to the Better Help platform for making it easy to have my counselling sessions overseas in Dubai while she is in the USA.

Dr. Kim was really great with pushing me to get more out of therapy than I have in the past. She was awesome with helping me work specifically on identifying what exactly I wanted to work on and steps I can take to get there. :)

Dr Kim is amazing. She is insightful and my therapy from her has been very effective. She is highly skilled and certified in emdr for ptsd. She has a pleasant demeanor and is professional. 5stas!!

Dr. Kim has been patient and understanding. I have enjoyed working with her and digging deeper through completing homework relative to my situation that she assigns.

Dr. Kim has such a unique therapy style. She's helped me so much this past year. She gets straight to the point and tries to resolve the problem as best she can. She knows therapy is expensive yet valuable so she makes the most of the time you have with her. Many therapists I've worked with would cut me off when speaking but not Dr. Kim. She's the kind of person who will give you extra time if she doesn't have another appointment or will follow up actively in chat when needed. Her care is unmatched. Since seeing her, I've made a lot of progress and I feel like I understand my depression and anxiety better. Dr. Kim thank you for the past year, you've done amazing work and I'm so happy to be working with you.

Dr. Kim has helped me so much. I had never done therapy before and I’m so so glad I gave it a try! I was experiencing and difficulties with my work environment as well as a health condition which was exacerbated by my stress levels. She taught me so much about the importance of self care and putting yourself first. My stress and anxiety levels have been so much better since starting with Dr. Kim.

Dr. Kim has helped me face a lot of childhood trauma I didnt even realize how deep I was hurt, It helped me gain a lot of confidence which I lacked. I appreciate her expertise a lot, she's actually really helpful.

Dr. Kim gets a 5 star from me she is so awesome.

Dr. Kim is excellent. She’s provides resources without pressure to complete and meets me where I am. I don’t feel like I have to hide any part of myself - which is a huge relief. I have never had any doubts as to her expertise and professional manner.

I feel safe and cared for during my sessions with Dr.Kim. She encourages me and helps me to know my strengths.

After our first session via video chat, I left with tools to help me identify emotions and body sensations because she could tell by my facial expressions that I was disconnected with that aspect of my life. She recommended I do facial massage to get in tune with myself. I also left with a menu of distress tolerance skills to help me when I re-experience triggers.


The rest of my sessions with Dr. Kim have been via phone calls. At first I was hesitant, especially doing emdr but it has been wonderful. Her voice is comforting and kind. The process is less stressful when I can simply concentrate on my body sensations, feelings and thoughts without worrying how I appear to another as I process prior trauma. I know she's there if I need her.



EMDR has been life changing. I have only reprocessed one traumatic life experience so far but already when thoughts and body sensations pop up about the event, I'm able to soothe them much faster.



Come to session willing to be honest and to use the tools between sessions and you will go far. Dr.Kim doesn't want us to be in therapy forever. She wants us to have the tools we need to live a life beyond our imagining.


I am very grateful to have been placed with Dr. Kim for EMDR therapy.

Dr.Kim is very professional and timely. She listens and is very caring. I feel comfortable talking to her about my life and it makes me feel confident about therapy. Seeking help is not easy for everyone and she makes it an enjoyable experience.

I have been seeing Dr. Kim for three weeks now and I have really been enjoying my sessions with her! She is a compassionate listener, the type that always makes sure I have finished my thought and makes feel valid in feeling whatever it is I feel - even when I am hesitant to do so. She's already helped me see patterns in my thinking linked to my upbringing that I had never before considered or seen. I also love the exercises she has us do together - makes me feel like she really cares and wants to explore my journey of healing together. I'm excited to see where my sessions with her take me!

Dr. Kim is an excellent to consult with your problems. I am not an US citizen and not a native speaker, but she always tries to understand me correctly patiently and take time for me. She is very nice and fun to talk to, so even though I am so depressed, I am always energized after the sessions. In our country, there is no certificated counselor or therapist, so I can not imagine how I could survive without her help for these several months. She is a true professional and have various experiences for even someone like me who has a different culture. I am confident with that I will overcome my long time depressions with her help. She is the best and it was a gift for me to find / meet her through BetterHelp.

My experience with Dr. Kim so far has been enlightening to what my potential is. She listens, understands, gives input with experience and readings, she also has been in her field for a great deal of time. I appreciate her attentiveness to my issues and views. Thank you Dr. Kim

I have been talking to Dr. Kim now for almost a year and she has helped tremendously and is always there for me.

Dr Kim is very understanding and gives tools to help you move forward.

Very helpful.

Dr Kim was extremely helpful and kind. She is an attentive listener and she asked very good questions that helped me to get to the root of my feelings. What I liked most about our sessions was the “homework”. She gave me actionable ways to help myself on a daily basis that truly worked. She was able to help me with everything from my ADHD to the trauma of losing a parent to cancer. She is highly skilled, professional and warm.

Dr. Kim helped me process a lot of things I was going through with past and present relationships. She showed genuine concern for my life and for me as a person. I’m so thankful for her help while I was going through a difficult time. She provided me with resources that were useful in my day to day life.

I am very grateful to Dr. Kim for her help in sorting through some very complicated feelings and an unhealthy worldview I had held since childhood. She helped me realize some unhealthy relationships in my life and most importantly gave me tools ti avoid replaying them in my own family. It is uncomfortable, but you can’t change what you are not aware of. I think I have been changing quite a bit recently. As a result of the work I have been doing jn therapy, i have found my (sometimes over the top) ambition and competitiveness waning a bit. But I think it is healthy and a natural part of my healing process. It will come back, I feel it - but I think in a much more healthy iteration. I used to be driven by some beliefs that were causing me pain. A lot of the achievements I pursued were motivated externally. I feel much more centered now, and have gained the ability to twll that “voice” to chill - as well as some real people in my life too ha. I was very defensive when I began therapy, and Dr. Kim stuck it out with me even when I was projecting onto her and frankly being unfair to her. She knew I wanted to change and did everything she could in helping me make changes. And i am feeply grateful to her for her help. It is hard to see your own flaws. It can be hard to see where those flaws originated. It can be harder not to “wallow “ in that origination story - to feel badly for yourself for why you were damaged, and leave it at that, with the damage as an excuse. And it is maybe hardest to realize that you can change and let that all go and be better. You can show her who you “really” are in this moment (in quotes because who we are is always in flux!) even if it is not perfect, and trust she will help you move towards a more calm, healthy version of yourself. Doing that is really scary. It made me want to lash out more than once. But i was able to do it with her help.

I went to Dr. Kim because I was struggling with post concussion issues and relationship issues. I worked with her for about 7-8 months and I cannot express how grateful I am that I worked with her. Dr. Kim made me feel understood, heard, and provided various coping tools to help many different situations. After working with her, I feel significantly more confident, able to identify my feelings better, and communicate how I feel more effectively. I would recommend Dr. Kim to anyone.

Dr. Kim has been such a wonderful addition to my life. She's helped me de stress and show me how important self care actually is to living a happy life. I've been able to zero in on my issues with her help and make the best plan to resolve them in a mindful way that didn't add more stress or trauma. Working with her was a blessing to help find myself again. Id recommend her to anyone, especially if you have long standing traumas and want to relearn self care and self love.

She is great at listening and is very empathetic in a way that feels like talking to a friend and not a clinical therapist with canned responses.

I joined Better Help to find a therapist who could help me help my older-teen daughter who is suffering through anxiety and depression. Those are not issues that I have, and so understanding them really required the help of a professional. Without a doubt, it was an awkward position for a therapist -- they usually ask questions, not answer them! But no matter what question or issue I brought to the table, Dr Kim was able to share her experience as a researcher and clinician to help me understand how best to help my daughter. When my daughter would raise an issue or concern that had me scratching my head, Dr Kim was always able to couch it in bigger-picture terms, which helped me understand my daughter's issues as the illness that they are, and not some sort of personal shortcoming. More than once I heard Dr Kim's words coming out of my mouth as I tried to help my husband and son understand what's going on with my daughter!
Overall, I recommend Dr Kim highly. She is articulate and thoughtful, and her insights always helped me to see issues from a different perspective. It was so comforting to hear her talk about her clinical and research experience, because it indicated a depth of knowledge and experience that really made me feel confident in the help I was getting. Five stars!

While working with Dr. Kim I learned to be kinder to myself and in doing so I gained more self confidence. This helped me in many aspects of my life. She is a wonderful listener and alway wanted to make sure that our phone conversations went smoothly. I would recommend Dr. Kim to anyone as she is kind and compassionate to her clients. Thanks for everything Dr. Kim!

Dr. Kim is an amazing counselor. She goes above and beyond. She is very knowledgeable about all approaches and aspects of mental health wellness. She is very empathetic and really understands me. She also follows up with check up messages. She is also very experienced with veterans issues. I highly recommend her.

Dr. Kim is amazing! At first I was a little hesitant and even thought it might not work out because I thought maybe some of the things she talked about we did not see eye to eye about but after 4-5 sessions we have a better understanding. She is so accommodating and wants you to get the most of these sessions. I would highly recommend her! Thank you Dr. Kim!

I have had a wonderful experience with Dr. Kim. She is very insightful and skilled at getting to the heart of the matter in a short amount of time. I leave every session with something practical to help me navigate my feelings and relationships. I highly recommend Dr. Kim as a counselor in any situation- whether you are trying to sort out your own feelings or even having marital or parenting issues. She is a true professional!

Dr. Kim is very understanding and supportive.

She is great.

I loved working with Dr. Kim! She was kind and understanding during all sessions. She sent me many worksheets, which I found to be very helpful, and she didn't mind sending me more when I asked. She always listened to what I had to say and gave great feedback. My mental health has greatly improved since I first started working with her, and I'm forever thankful for that.

I have been working with Dr Kim for 8 weeks now, and I can confidently say she is the best therapist I've ever had. She is genuinely caring and really just wants to help. I have been struggling with anxiety for many years, and after my sessions with Dr Kim I feel more confident and happy with myself than I ever have. She has been a great help and I would definitely recommend her to anyone! Thank you so much Dr Kim!!!

Dr Kim is absolutely remarkable! Her deep understanding, compassion & expert guidance has truly changed my life. She has been instrumental in helping me untangle a lifetime of suffering and live each day with courage, confidence and mindfulness. My only regret is not having done this sooner.

LOVE LOVE LOVEEE DR. KIM!!!! She has become more than a counselor to me, she has truly become a friend! She’s so warm and helpful! She comes up with creative exercises that help you really break down your inner thoughts and feelings, it’s amazing! I COULD GO ON! Definitely highly recommended!!

Dr. Kim is such a great person to talk to. She really takes the time to listen and understand exactly what you are going though. She offers amazing advice to direct you through your conflicts and help guide you down the road you want to take. I always look forward to my talks with Dr. Kim and am super happy to have had her as my therapist for this short duration of time.

I love working with Dr. Kim. I think she is intelligent yet empathetic. Her whole experience in different therapies makes it a lot more fun!

Dr. Kim is a very experienced and understanding therapist. She was able to understand me and even point out things that have been affecting me my whole life before I recognize it myself. I find our sessions very helpful.

Dr.Kim is so sweet and such a great person to speak with. Thank-you for being such a good listening ear for me especially after listening to so many others before and after our scheduled time...make sure to always make time for yourself and do lots of self care...because you deserve it!

Dr. Kim is attentive, responsive and makes everything feel okay. She listens closely to my thoughts and feelings, and validates them while suggesting helpful and positive exercises, or possible solutions. She helps make me feel I am being listening to and cared for. Would 100% recommend Dr. Kim!

I love Dr. Kim because she is an amazing listener, she gives great advice, she understands the situation and she has been there. She understands the struggle of working full time and going to school full time. She is a very strong and positive person who is a great role model. I honestly cannot wait to be a counselor like Dr. Kim! She is a keeper!

Dr. Kim has been very understanding, knowledgeable and responsive. She has offered insightful suggestions and is very goal-oriented.

Dr. Kim helped me with a variety of issues including my anxiety/depression, imbalances in my relationships and finding connections in my past that affect me today. She did all this without judgment. She’s lgbtq friendly, and has an understanding of different relationship dynamics outside of monogamy. Thank you for helping me through the past month Kim! Highly recommend!

I’ve been working with Dr Kim for a few weeks now. She is fabulous. She’s so warm and inviting, and very easy to talk to. She listens to my words and offers thoughtful feedback without judgement. I really enjoy my sessions with her and I would recommend her services to anyone going through a difficult time.

I loved everything about this counseling.

I really feel like she cares and I appreciate that a lot. Thank you.

In the few sessions I have had with Dr Kim, I feel that she’s responsive and understanding. Always proposes a method to resolve and progress. I have recommended Dr. Kim to my friends and family.

Dr. Kim is a great counselor who will help you through many problems such as the relationships you have with people in life that i was dealing with. She is direct with her advise and she is a good listener.

Dr Kim is very understanding.

For a first timer, I surprised myself that this new way of therapy would work. Dr Kim is a good listener and gave me practical action/steps to take that aren’t huge tasks that would overwhelm me. I only had one phone call. I’ve sat with therapist for an hour each week w/very little help (for months).

Dr. Kim is one of a kind and makes me feel extremely comfortable with opening up - which is all I could ask for from a counselor.

Karina is fantastic.

Dr. Kim was able to give me several anxiety reducing exercises to help me through a very stressful day. I'm looking forward to our upcoming video session!