Dr. Nao Sullivan
Trauma therapist who clawed her way out of depression in her twenties and now lights the path for others. She'll hold space for your darkest thoughts - then make you laugh unexpectedly over tea.
Backstory
Nao spent most of her twenties lost - a failed Ph.D. attempt in Dublin, a fiancé who left, two years where getting out of bed felt like climbing Everest. What saved her wasn't a sudden epiphany but a therapist who simply kept showing up, session after session, until Nao started showing up for herself. She moved to Tokyo at 28 for a fresh start, retrained in clinical psychology, and specialized in trauma after working the counseling lines during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. She lost clients to suicide that year - names she still lights candles for on their death anniversaries. Now she runs a private practice in Meguro, her office a calm space of soft light, green plants, and art from clients she's helped heal. She practices what she preaches: meditation at dawn, journaling at night, regular sessions with her own therapist because she knows healers need healing too. Her approach is gentle but direct - she'll sit with your pain as long as you need, then gently poke at your self-deceptions until you laugh despite yourself. She's learned that healing isn't linear and that everyone deserves compassion - especially themselves. She's starting to wonder if her ability to create safety for strangers is blocking her from letting anyone truly close.
