01 · Who Mihoko works with

Mihoko works with stress, Anxiety, grief and anger management

Mihoko lists 16 specialisms and 34 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Mihoko chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Mihoko's own words

What Mihoko says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I feel honored when I can instill in people a sense of hope and courage in working towards a change. I work with my clients to create open and safe space where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment. I know firsthand that it takes courage to pursue an authentic life. I feel connected with you because you have taken the very first step towards a change by reading this. Congratulations on your bravery! I believe in reciprocity and mutual growth in all relationships including ours. My role is to support and empower you to find purpose in your life. I grew up in Japan and have been educated in Tokyo and San Francisco Bay Area. I have a broad range of work and life experience in Japan, Australia and America. I received a master’s degree in counseling with concentration on rehabilitation of people with disabilities. I have provided mental health counseling for the past 10 years as a licensed therapist. I have worked for over 20 years as social worker/case manager in a variety of clinical settings in San Francisco Bay Area and on the Big Island of Hawai’i. I have supported individuals of all ages, children and adults, with or without disabilities. The issues I helped my clients manage include depression, anxiety, trauma, grief & loss, gender identity, cultural adjustment, guilt, shame, self-esteem, motivation, loneliness, purpose, among other emotional and situational challenges. My therapy approach draws influences from Humanistic, Existential, Somatic, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive-Behavioral therapies. I adopt an body-mind (psychosomatic) integrative approach to help people make changes, based on their strengths and preferences. In my therapy room, clients engage in personal reflection by challenging their negative thoughts, with the help of sensory-based exercises, relaxation, and other self-regulation techniques to ease their emotional difficulties. My clients may also explore their past to gain insight into themselves to help them live more authentically in the present. I have seen my clients improve their overall well-being, be it physical, emotional, behavioral, and/or spiritual. We will work together to find what works best for you in order to achieve the most balanced well-being, while seeking practical solutions to your life’s challenges. My philosophy is social justice-driven and culturally responsive to promote the individuality of people of all backgrounds. I particularly feel strongly about supporting those traditionally underserved in the helping professions given my firsthand experience growing up as such. I am particularly sensitive to intersectionality of multiple minority status, such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, and socioeconomic status. Most importantly, I believe in what we already have within despite our environment. My role is to be your partner to help you discover or rediscover your inner resources that are yet to be tapped, nurture and use them to move forward in your life.

Mihoko Kusachi, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Mihoko works

The 6 approaches Mihoko lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Mihoko lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Mihoko's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Mihoko runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Also listed

• Existential Therapy
• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Mihoko practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Mihoko's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Mihoko at this point.

2. Naming Mihoko specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Mihoko is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Mihoko.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Mihoko

Built from what Mihoko actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Mihoko's - Mihoko has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

• “You offer sessions in English and Japanese. Does the work change depending on which we use?”

  People often reach different material in a first language than in a second. Worth naming before you choose.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMHC

Licensed in

Hawaii

Licence

HI LMHC MHC-329

Licence number

MHC-329

Licence expires

30 Jun 2029

NPI

1295124949

Years in practice

10

Gender

Female

Languages

English, Japanese

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Mihoko's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Mihoko. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.