Welcome! My name is Avery Chao. Originally from Taiwan, I call New York City home. I’ve created this space to share writing, reflections, arts, and insights about psychology and humanity. 

Here, what I really want to share with you is my connection to Internal Family Systems (IFS) and art therapy. As an art therapist, I have a deep passion for attachment and trauma work. I’ve been fortunate to attend various training programs over the past decade. That journey felt a bit like dating—I tried many approaches, but eventually, there was this moment of  resonance came Internal Family Systems. Yet, oddly enough, this connection felt incredibly familiar.

Each of us has an internal system made up of different "Parts", each with its own jobs and intentions, and even conflicting intentions. Through creative expression, sensory exploration, or simply by allowing ourselves to open up, we can create space for these inner to be felt, seen, acknowledged, and understood. When these parts start to unburden, our inner world becomes expansive—like a room that’s finally opened up and filled light and warmth. I believe our work is not to become a “better version” of ourselves but to see parts as our inner resources for self-integration and connect with the world from the inside out, but to become yourself.