132: Walking Alongside: Authentic, Justice-Oriented Therapy with Katie La

In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Katie La, a licensed professional counselor and supervisor whose work is grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and justice-oriented care. Katie came to therapy not by design but by what felt like destiny—a near-full scholarship tucked inside her graduation diploma pulled her into a field she hadn't planned to enter. What grew from that unexpected beginning was a deep, decades-long commitment to meeting clients where their histories actually live: in culture, in survival, in the parts of themselves they were taught to dismiss. Sindee and Katie cover what it really means to bring your whole self into the therapy room. Katie shares openly about growing up as a Vietnamese refugee in Houston — the shame of feeling not American enough, a household where emotions were never named, and a culture built around physical survival rather than feelings. That background shapes everything about how she works with clients today, especially those from minority and marginalized communities who carry guilt just for having a mental health struggle at all. The conversation moves through validation as the only real starting point, the difference between projecting your lived experience onto a client and letting it make you more attuned, and why curiosity is a more powerful clinical tool than any certification. Katie also pushes back on the self-regulation-only model most therapists learned in grad school, making a quiet, convincing case for co-regulation — community, culture, karaoke with friends — as equally necessary for healing. This one is for any therapist who has felt the pull between their training and their humanity. Katie's perspective is expansive but her delivery is grounded and real, and what stays with you is something simple: the most important thing you can offer a client isn't a technique. It's the willingness to walk alongside them — not ahead, not behind — and not look away from what's true. 00:49 - Meet Katie La 02:40 - Growing Up Vietnamese in Houston: Assimilation, Shame, and Survival 06:32 - Why So Many Minority Cultures Deprioritize Mental Health 09:38 - Holding Your Own Culture While Sitting With a Client's 13:00 - Walking Alongside, Not in Front 17:08 - Radical Honesty in the Therapy Room 21:12 - Collective Care and Justice-Oriented Care 25:04 - Co-Regulation vs. Self-Regulation 28:50 - What We Need to Unlearn from Grad School 34:11 - Concrete Ways to Be More Culturally Attuned 40:27 - Where to Find Katie and Cognitive Revival Check out Berries: Berries Referral Link: heyberries.com/?via=heart-centered Discount code: Sindee50 for $50 off your first month   Shop Mental Health Threads: https://mentalhealththreads.etsy.com   Connect with Katie La:   Website: https://cognitiverevival.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cogrevpllc    Connect with Sindee Gozansky: Visit my website: asimpletherapypodcast.com/ Join the Heart-Centered Therapist Community FB group: facebook.com/groups/478651669638167 Instagram: 
instagram.com/heartcenteredtherapist/ YouTube: youtube.com/@asimpletherapypodcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sindeegozansky/   Want to be a guest on the podcast?  Email Sindee: [email protected]