Diana Chu, LMFT, RDT
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. Registered Drama Therapist. Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator at Stanford GSB.
Built for the Work You're Actually Doing
I became a therapist because I kept noticing a particular kind of gap: the distance between how capable someone looks from the outside and how they actually feel. That gap tends to be widest in people who have built something real and are carrying the weight of it mostly alone.
I hold a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, a program that takes the whole person seriously: the clinical, the relational, and the cultural. I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #105546) and a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT #659).
I also serve as an Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, working with MBA students and executives on emotional intelligence, communication, and self-awareness. That work gives me a close view of how high-achieving people actually function under pressure, in groups, and in relationships.
Before building my private practice, I worked as an advisor to mental health tech startups. I understand the specific rhythm of building, the loneliness of leadership, and the psychological cost of decisions that affect other people's lives. You won't need to explain your world from scratch.
How I Work
My approach is relational, direct, and collaborative. I work with the whole person, not just what's on the surface. The modalities I draw from most are EMDR, the Gottman Method, and drama therapy, alongside a psychodynamic and relational foundation.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: an evidence-based approach for processing the experiences, early patterns, and accumulated stress that shape how you respond under pressure today.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
A research-based framework for understanding and rebuilding the patterns of communication, conflict, and connection in intimate partnerships and co-founding relationships.
Drama Therapy & Experiential Work
Structured experiential methods (not performance-based) that that allow you to access and work through what direct conversation sometimes can't reach. Particularly effective for people who have learned to intellectualize almost everything.
I work with clients throughout California via secure telehealth. Sessions are 50 minutes, typically weekly or bi-weekly. Early morning and evening slots are available.
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Credentials
- LMFT #105546, California
- TPMF785, Florida
- RDT #659, Registered Drama Therapist
- MA Counseling Psychology, CIIS
- Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator, Stanford GSB
- Board Member, Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center
- Telehealth Practice Only
Three Principles That Guide My Work
Insight Without Action is Just Awareness
Understanding yourself matters, but it only goes so far. The work we do together is oriented toward real change: in how you think, how you relate, and how you show up as a leader.
High Performance and Well-Being Are Not in Opposition
A lot of high performers come in believing that taking care of themselves is somehow at odds with doing their job well. It isn't. Every effective leader I've worked with has also been genuinely self-aware. That's not a coincidence.
You Are More Than Your Role
For a lot of founders and executives, who they are and what they do start to blur together. When that happens, every business setback becomes a personal one. Part of our work is untangling those two things so you're leading from a more grounded place.
Let's see if we're a good fit.
The first consultation is free, 20 minutes, and no-pressure. It's simply a conversation to see if working together makes sense.
Telehealth · California & Florida