Psychoanalytic Thoughts by German Cheung, Psy.D.

06/11/2026

Psychoanalytic Consultation for Asian and Asian-American Therapists

Description: This group focuses on enhancing your ability and skills to discern and conduct a psychoanalytic process in your clinical work, while providing a vital space to discuss various
issues pertinent to your professional development as a therapist as well as your unique identity as an Asian/Asian American psychoanalytic therapist.

The group is self-paced and members are responsible for the content of the group in order to meet your clinical and professional development needs. Special attention is paid on group process as a vehicle to enhance the understanding and emotional availability for clinical materials, professional and personal needs and conflicts.

Some topics of discussion may include, but not limited to the following:

• Psychoanalytic process and case conceptualization in treatment
• Understanding and resolving treatment resistances and impasses
• Transference-Countertransference matrix
• Subjective and Objective Countertransference states
• Therapist use of self
• Object-oriented and self/ego-oriented engagements
• Psychoanalytic frame issues, e.g. fees, scheduling, etc.
• Legal and ethical dilemmas
• Immigration, cultural considerations and social justice issues

Time: Every Other Tuesday 1:30 - 2:45pm (PST) via Google Meet

Fees: $70/mtg for all scheduled meetings

Participants: Maximum of 8 Asian/Asian American-identified psychoanalytical therapists who practice across a variety of settings, e.g. community clinics, schools, hospitals, private practice and etc.

Qualifications: Any level of clinical experience; Must have some interests in Psychoanalysis

Group Consultant: German Cheung, Psy.D. is a psychoanalytically-oriented psychologist who maintains a private practice in the Bay Area. He was vigorously trained at Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc., (RAMS) and has served as clinical supervisor, consultant, and faculty for various community mental health clinics and private practitioners in the Bay Area (e.g. Access Institute, RAMS, Ann Martin Center) and Hong Kong (e.g. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Hong Kong) since 2008.

His clinical interests include working with Asian/Asian Americans, narcissistic defense in patients and therapists, anger, aggression and implosion, Modern Psychoanalysis, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Psychosis.

If you are interested in joining or have questions about the consultation group, please
contact German Cheung, Psy.D. at (415) 972-9130.

05/11/2026

Can’t agree more

02/12/2026

“I lived in a glass house into which my mother could look
at any time. In a glass house, however, you cannot con-
ceal anything without giving yourself away, except by
hiding it under the ground. And then you cannot see it
yourself, either.”

— Drama of the Gifted Child, Alice Miller

This exquisite quote aptly captures what is like to be raised by narcissistic parent(s), where boundaries between you and your parent were blurred and your sense of self was obscure and ill-defined. Growing up you see your parent’s needs being no different from your own, and, to earn their approval and love, you have gradually developed ultra-sensitive antennas to detect their needs and knee-jerk responses to meet what they expect of you. You might have tried to give voice to your needs, mustering the remaining bits of courage and spoken up, only to find your demands fallen on deaf ears and triggered a series of attacks, dismissals, and/or threats of abandonment from these narcissistic individuals. You have learned that it is better off to silence yourself.

See more at

This exquisite quote aptly captures what is like to be raised by narcissistic parent(s), where boundaries between you and your parent were blurred and your sense of self was obscure and ill-defined. Growing up you see your parent’s needs being no different from your own, and, to earn their approva...

02/11/2026

If psychoanalysis relies on our patients loving us, it will surely wither and die in the end. If and when only psychoanalysis tolerates hateful feelings, we will then see it blossom and thrive.

11/28/2025

If you are a therapist, counselor, or social worker in Hong Kong working with Tai Po Fire survivors, I am happy to provide consultation and support for your services for as long as it is needed. No fees.

Contact me at

#天佑大埔

08/09/2025

問題: 成人安撫奶嘴... 究竟有用嗎? 歡迎討論, 我稍後會分享一啲睇法。

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3320266/adult-pacifiers-trending-china-stress-relief-and-sleep-doctors-warn-health-risks

Question: Do adult pacifiers work? Discussion welcomed. I will share a few thoughts afterwards.

安撫奶嘴已不再是嬰兒專屬用品，近期，標榜「解壓」、「助眠」、「戒煙」的成人專用安撫奶嘴，在內地網購平台爆紅，月銷量動輒破千，部分熱銷款甚至超過2千個，但口腔與心理專家憂心，若依賴恐對健康造成負面影響。 ....

04/22/2025

"The damage done to us during our childhood cannot be undone, since we cannot change anything in our past. We can, however, change ourselves. We can repair ourselves and gain our lost integrity by choosing to look more closely at the knowledge that is stored inside our bodies and bringing this knowledge closer to our awareness. This path, although certainly not easy, is the only route by which we can at last leave behind the cruel, invisible prison of our childhood. We become free by transforming ourselves from unaware victims of the past into responsible individuals in the present, who are aware of our past and are thus able to live with it."

The Drama of the Gifted Child and How we Became Psychotherapist - Alice Miller

04/13/2025

It is not only laughable but his claim shows gross misunderstanding and ignorance about this deeply complex, developmental and psychological phenomena.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), like many other conditions, is a result of a combination of psychological, neurological, environmental and developmental factors. It is never something that can be resolved with one single approach either.

01/20/2025

Dear colleagues,

We are writing to you as scholars, clinicians, and mental health professionals to request your signature on the attached petition protesting the abrupt closure of the Center for the Treatment of Young Psychotic Adults (the “388”) in Quebec City by bureaucrats in the provincial healthcare system, who last week acted summarily to close this internationally-recognized treatment Center without any sound justification.

The “388” was conceived and created by psychoanalysts W***y Apollon, Danielle Bergeron and Lucie Cantin and has been operated by their organization GIFRIC since 1982. It has earned international renown for its successful psychoanalytic treatment of patients suffering from the symptoms of psychosis–many of whom had extensive histories of psychiatric treatment and hospitalization and were unable to live independently before seeking treatment at the Center.

The 388 is an interdisciplinary and multi-modal treatment center in which each patient works with a psychoanalyst as well as a treatment team composed of a psychiatrist, a social worker, and a clinical case worker. It offers a unique approach to community-based care, which focuses not only on clinical symptoms but also on the social and psychological reintegration of patients into their communities. The individual psychoanalysis, however, is the core of the treatment, and every aspect of the Center is conceived and designed with the aim of supporting the personal analysis undertaken by each patient. This holistic approach and its clinical outcomes are the result of decades of dedicated efforts and continued refinement by specially trained professionals.
The Center’s results have been rigorously documented and reviewed over the forty-two years it has been in operation, and it has been evaluated many times by teams from all over the world who have consistently expressed the highest praise for the quality of the treatment offered and its unprecedented success rate—all delivered at a cost to the government of Quebec that is among the lowest per capita in the field of mental health care, and dramatically less expensive than long-term commitment or hospitalization.

Despite these impressive results, the C.I.U.S.S.S.--the provincial healthcare agency responsible for health and mental health treatment in Quebec–has decided to close the 388 on the grounds that psychoanalysis does not align with what it calls “accepted” treatment protocols for psychosis. This cursory judgment is not only grossly inaccurate, but contradicted by the long and well-documented track record of the Center and regular and detailed evaluations by qualified external reviewers. Data collected over the past forty-two years reveals that a majority of the patients who enter the Center are treated successfully, as defined by their ability to break free of the symptomatology that once controlled their lives, to reduce their reliance on medication, and to live independently, return to school, or pursue careers as productive members of society. This success rate is both astonishing and without precedent for patients with a diagnosis of severe psychosis, for whom treatment options are limited and the prognosis generally poor.

The eighty patients who are currently in treatment at the Center were informed only last week that it would be closed down in March and that they should begin looking for alternative treatment options. This news has been incredibly destabilizing for patients, who in some cases have already invested years in their treatment and have reached delicate and potentially decisive moments in their personal analyses when continuity of care and the support of a treatment team are absolutely essential. These patients themselves are mobilizing to prevent this closure, and we ask you to assist us and them in doing the same.

We therefore ask that you express your support for the continued existence of the 388 by signing one of the attached petitions (or both, if you work in both fields). Please provide your full title and affiliation and circulate widely to your networks!

1. The first petition is for academics (faculty, researchers, and postdocs) in any field whose work engages with or has been impacted by psychoanalysis;

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-the-388-and-preserve-treatment-options-for-mental-health?source=direct_link&

2. The second petition is for clinicians and other mental health professionals:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/preserve-treatment-options-for-psychosis-in-quebec?source=direct_link

Sign this petition to save the Center for the Treatment of Young Psychotic Adults (the "388") in Quebec City, Canada

08/27/2024

When the space to fantasize collapses, a thought is just as "real" as action.

An unwelcomed thought becomes a threat, a real threat.