About Me
Hello, I’m Dr. Andy Choi
I am a board-certified counseling psychologist whose career spans psychotherapy, interdisciplinary scholarship, and university teaching in health service psychology. My clinical practice is rooted primarily in psychodynamic thought and informed by extensive training and supervised experience in community health clinics, hospitals, and university counseling centers.
Across these settings—including several minority-serving institutions—I have worked with people from varied backgrounds and circumstances on a wide range of psychological concerns. These experiences have sharpened my ability to understand each person in relation to both their inner life and the cultural, relational, and institutional worlds they inhabit. They have also strengthened the clinical judgment needed to adapt my approach without losing depth or coherence.
Education and clinical training
I earned my PhD in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I completed my APA-accredited doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology at the Counseling and Student Development Center of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where I provided culturally responsive, goal-oriented care to a diverse island community of young adults.
I later completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Psychology at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. There, I specialized in intensive psychodynamic treatment for people facing political vulnerability and economic precarity. As part of integrated healthcare teams in the public sector, I helped clients address concerns ranging from everyday difficulties and major life disruptions to trauma and serious mental illness.
Identity and perspective
I am a queer Korean American cisgender man whose family history includes cultural preservation, decolonial resistance, and diasporic migration. This legacy informs my understanding of how inherited social conditions and systems of power shape our sense of self and what we imagine is possible. I approach psychotherapy as a liberatory practice—helping clients transform their relationship with themselves and navigate their circumstances with greater agency.
Beyond work
I enjoy time outdoors with family and friends, as well as visual and performing arts, reading, and travel. I use he/him pronouns.
Credentials & Licensure
Board Certified in Counseling Psychology
American Board of Professional Psychology
Licensed Psychologist
New York · 026945
California · PSY33136
Hawaiʻi · PSY-1916
Credentialed Health Service Psychologist
National Register of Health Service Psychologists
PhD in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
University of California, Santa Barbara
Selected Media
Worthiness, values, and self-love (November 17, 2023 - The Thoughtful Counselor Podcast, CONCEPT Continuing & Professional Studies, Palo Alto University)
Cultivating freedom, beauty, and pride through psychotherapy (on Spotify and Apple Podcasts) (June 21, 2023 - People of Color in Psychology Podcast, The Multicultural Counseling Institute)
Finding mentors who help students soar: For minority students, finding mentors can be a challenge. Here’s how they can overcome barriers (April 1, 2017 - Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association)
Ready to begin?
Investing in your psychological health can be among the most rewarding and life-changing decisions you make. I am committed to helping you navigate new pathways toward greater clarity, personal freedom, and a life that feels more fully your own.