Yan completed her Doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. She completed her pre-doctoral internship training at the Student Counseling Services at the Miami University, Ohio.

Yan’s professional interests include: multicultural counseling which encompasses culture, gender, sexual orientation and other aspects of diversity; the psychology of international, immigrant, Asian/Asian American student population; multilingual counseling (English and Chinese), LGBTQ issues, psychology of women, and clinical supervision.

Yan’s research interests can be reflected upon her master’s thesis research on international students’ adjustment issues, her doctoral dissertation research on differences in the subjective well-being of Chinese lesbians during their sexual identity development, and mindfulness based treatment.

Yan’s counseling style reflects an integrating Eastern philosophy with Western psychology, combining Zen Psychology, mindfulness based treatment, interpersonal, feminist approach, and understanding the impact of environmental oppression and spirituality in the healing process.

Yan is a distinguished International Doctoral Fellow from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She is member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA).