Navigating the Storm

Dr. Jo is a clinical psychologist (unlicensed) who provides integrative culturally grounded care rooted in deep respect for each person's unique path of healing.

Dr. Jo works from the belief that healing is nurtured in holistic and ecological pilina, connection and relationship - not only to others, but to self, to breath, to mind and body, to land, to ancestors, to culture and community. They walk beside clients as collaborative partners, allowing their lived experience, values, and cultural identities to guide the course of therapy. Their work is highly personalized, honoring each individual’s story while drawing from evidence-based practices that are flexible and responsive—not one-size-fits-all.

They draw from process-based and transdiagnostic approaches, focusing on the underlying emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns that cut across different challenges—such as trauma, depression, or anxiety—rather than treating isolated diagnoses. Their practice integrates clinical science with Indigenous wisdoms, contemplative practice, and embodied awareness.

Dr. Jo holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and completed advanced clinical training in community-based serious mental illness treatment at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry. Other training sites include the Traumatic Stress Clinic at VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System, Contemplative Therapy at the Nalanda Institute (compassion-focused), biofeedback and multi-discipline approaches at Tripler Army Medical Center, and Traumatic Stress at the Justice Resource Institute. They are certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy, and have completed in-depth trainings in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT for Insomnia, Narrative Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and the Ola ka Huakaʻihele o Hiʻiaka program (Hawaiʻi lifeways for healing from substance use challenges). Their clinical specialty is in healing from traumatic stress (interpersonal, intergenerational, event-based).

As a Kanaka ʻŌiwi psychologist and experienced mindfulness and Yoga teacher, they bring a depth of compassion, cultural humility, and relational presence to each therapeutic relationship.

Clinical Services

Dr. Jo currently offers clinical services through Hui Hoʻomalu, a multi-eyed seeing group bringing together Kanaka ʻŌiwi practices such as lomi lomi, and hoʻoponopono with Western therapeutic services, and Eastern practices such as meditation. These services are open to those affected by the Maui fires, and are free of charge.

Dr. Jo’s approach to psychotherapy is personalized, relational, and deeply attuned to each client’s lived experience. They support adults and emerging adults navigating trauma, life transitions, identity exploration, and emotional distress—particularly those from communities historically marginalized in mental health care.

Their work is grounded in a whole-person, ecological view of wellbeing. Rather than focusing narrowly on symptoms or diagnoses, Dr. Jo collaborates with clients to understand the broader context of their lives—relationships, ancestry, environment, social systems—and to co-create meaningful paths toward healing.

Services are available for:

  • Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress
    Support for individuals healing from event-based, interpersonal, systemic, intergenerational, or identity-based trauma. Dr. Jo is certified (pending licensure) in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and other evidence-based approaches, and provides trauma care that is culturally safe, strengths-based, and relational.

  • Mind-Body Health & Chronic Stress
    Drawing on expertise in behavioral medicine, mindfulness, and somatic practices, Dr. Jo supports individuals facing chronic pain, somatic distress, insomnia, and stress-related conditions—especially where medical and psychological concerns overlap.

  • LGBTQIA2S+ MVPFAFF and BIPOC Mental Health
    Affirming, identity-centered care for those whose experiences of gender, sexuality, race, culture, or colonization shape their mental health journey. Dr. Jo offers a space of safety and belonging, dignity, and co-exploration, grounded in cultural humility and lived solidarity.

  • Mood, Anxiety, and Habit Change
    Therapy for those experiencing depression, anxiety, panic, or emotional overwhelm, including those navigating mixed or evolving identities, grief, or life transitions. Dr. Jo works with an affirming lens that holds space for nuance, complexity, and the nonlinear nature of healing.

Therapy may include talking, breathing, stillness, movement, reflection, and skill-building, depending on what resonates most with the client. Across all services, Dr. Jo’s goal is to walk with clients in a process that feels grounded, authentic, elucidating, transformative, and empowering.

Therapeutic Approaches & Specializations

Dr. Jo’s therapeutic approach is integrative and guided by the needs and strengths of each person they work with. Their training spans evidence-based, culturally safe, and mindfulness-based modalities, including:

  • Mindfulness-Based Interventions
    With decades of personal and professional experience in mindfulness, Yoga, and meditation, Dr. Jo incorporates body-based awareness, present-moment grounding, and compassion practices into therapy. They are trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and completed a yearlong Contemplative Psychotherapy certification, with an emphasis on compassion-based care and the intersection of spiritual and psychological healing. They are also a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction facilitator.

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    A values-centered therapy that supports clients in building psychological flexibility, reducing avoidance, and aligning actions with what truly matters to them. Following intensive training with Dr. Stephen Hayes and other master trainers in ACT, Dr. Jo provided ACT in both research and community settings, contributing to its cultural adaptation for diverse populations.

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
    A gold standard evidence-based trauma treatment that helps individuals shift unhelpful beliefs related to trauma. Dr. Qinaʻau is trained and certified in CPT for PTSD through the VA Pacific Islands Health Care Trauma Clinic where they focused on working with ethnically diverse Veterans.

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
    Skills-based support for emotional regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance, particularly for clients facing intense emotional experiences or struggles with suicidality. Dr. Jo was trained in DBT at Harvard Medical Center’s Massachusetts Mental Health Center.

  • Decolonial Therapy for Indigenous Peoples & Allies
    Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, liberation and community psychology, Dr. Qinaʻau offers decolonial therapy that centers cultural sustainability, collective healing, and resistance to historical and ongoing oppression. This approach supports Indigenous peoples and allies in reconnecting with values of relationality, land-based healing, ancestral knowledge, addressing intergenerational trauma, and navigating the impacts of colonization on ecological wellbeing.

  • Culture-as-Health

    For many folx, culture can be a source of healing, nourishing cultural identity, connection to ancestors and spirituality, as well as community. This can be explored by bringing therapeutic and healing work to the land, and identifying one’s Kaʻao (a personal mythology). Regardless of one’s cultural background, or potential challenges with family, leveraging culture for healing can be an empowering and paradigm-shifting experience. Although we would primarily draw from the Ola ka Huakaʻihele o Hiʻiaka program, Jo works to connect clients with resources that heal and uplift when the time feels right for them.

  • Narrative Therapy
    A respectful, non-pathologizing approach that centers people as the experts in their own lives and identities. Dr. Jo integrates narrative therapy to help individuals re-author stories shaped by trauma, oppression, and dominant cultural narratives. With attention to culture, history, and community context, they support clients—especially those from Indigenous and LGBTQ+/MVPFAFF backgrounds—in reclaiming meaning, values, and agency through storytelling and dialogue.

  • Motivational Interviewing

    A collaborative, client-centered approach designed to enhance motivation and commitment to change. Dr. Qinaʻau uses motivational interviewing to support individuals navigating ambivalence around substance use, health behaviors, and life transitions.