Dr. Cho and DBT Team
As a scholar and practitioner, he studies the suffering of human mind, self-destructive behaviors and religious aspects of psychology.
He has been serving culturally and religiously diverse population for the past decades. His efforts to serve the under-served population was recognized by New York Times and other medias.
He values the importance of providing the evidence-based psychotherapy for people who are suffering.
Dr. Cho and his DBT team are committed to provide the best DBT treatment in Korea and to save people's lives.
Yong Cho, Ph.D.
CEO of the Tree Group/DBT Center of KoreaㅣChief Psychologist
Dr. Cho is the CEO of the Tree Group. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of New York. He graduated from the University of Utah and received his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York.
He started his clinical training at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and in 1998, he continued his training at the Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
Around the year of 2000, he introduced DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to Korean speaking immigrants who were experiencing emotion regulation issues for the first time.
His scholarly background on cultural and religious psychology, and suicide prevention helped him approach the diverse population without prejudice in New York region.
While providing his expert service to Jewish community and general population with European descents, he was saddened by the fact that there were so many under-served Asian population in New York districts.
With the generous help from the Zucker Hillside Hospital and his colleagues, he opened the Asian American Family Clinic at the hospital.
His work was featured in the media, such as New York Times, for providing psychological services to multicultural communities.
Dr. Yong cho
Dr. Cho, the path he walk, is the path for pain and suffering; the DBT and Marsha Linehan’s philosophy, he believed, are the non-detachable companion of his walk to save people from their suffering.
In 2003, he was relocated back to Seoul, Korea. He established the Tree group and provided evidence-based treatments, including DBT, PE (Prolonged Exposure) therapy, CBT (Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy) for Korean local communities as well as English speaking ex-patriate communities; those communities had not been served properly with high-quality evidence-based psychological services.
In 2007, Dr. Cho established DBT Center of Korea with the support of its founder, Dr. Marsha Linehan and other experts. His team had completed a full DBT training from Dr. Linehan’s DBT training institute, Behavioral Tech and the team of DBT Center of Korea was being certified. DBT Center of Seattle/Evidence-Based Treatment Center of Seattle provided further supervised training for the team of DBT Korea.
In 2008, he invited Dr. Linehan for the monumental DBT Workshop in Korea. It was Dr. Cho’s mindful intent to provide opportunities for Korean professionals to learn directly from Dr. Linehan and to practice DBT for those suffering clients and patients in Korea.
For the past decades, Dr. Cho and his clinical team have been providing clinical services for clients from both Korean and English-language backgrounds and those with traumas, emotion dysregulation and psychological disorders.
He devoted himself to translate Dr. Linehan’s DBT manuals, the first and second editions. It is his strong belief that without the translated manuals, it is impossible to disseminate DBT for Korean speaking population; and the translation and editors should be the DBT trained bilingual clinicians who have a full original training in the States and have a strong cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds to understand both Korean and western cultures without bias.
The five-year long project of translating major DBT manuals of Dr. Linehan and the Adolescent DBT manual of Dr. Miller and Dr. Rathus started in 2013 and the team completed the publication in 2018.
His dedication for the under-served population and his pursuit to use his psychological knowledge and skills to relieve suffering has never stopped. For his pro-bono work, in 1995 he developed the first suicide prevention program in the Army of Korea and published the field manual. He outreached the victims of sexual and physical abuse and even torture victims in Korea.
After he came back to Korea, Dr. Cho found so many ex-patriate bilingual children and adolescents who suffer from delay in language transfer and neuro-developmental issues. International schools and boarding schools across the world referred the students whose English capacity could not be improved with their typical western learning disorder or speech-language approach.
Their language delay triggered several emotional, behavioral, social difficulties. Dr. Cho observed those kids and their parents who were suffering deeply. He could not abandon their cry for help and thus, supported them with the treatment programs that facilitate language development and academic adjustment.
Dr. Cho, the path he walk, is the path for pain and suffering; the DBT and Marsha Linehan’s philosophy, he believed, are the non-detachable companion of his walk to save people from their suffering.
Dr. Cho has always been open-minded. DBT Center of Korea welcomes anyone who approches us with mindful and scientific state of mind.
– Licensed Clinical Psychologist in New York (#015603)
– Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at New School for Social Research, New York
– M.A. in Psychology at New School for Social Research, New York
– B.S. in Psychology at University of Utah
Clinical Training & Former Positions
– Adjunct Professor at Ewha Women’s University
– President of the Open Clinic for Human Rights Victims
– Clinical Psychologist at the Zucker Hillside Hospital / North Shore Long Island Health System, New York
– Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship at the Zucker Hillside Hospital / North Shore Long Island Health System, New York
– Clinical Psychology Externship at the Zucker Hillside Hospital / North Shore Long Island Health System, New York
– Clinical Psychology Externship at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York
Songhee Chae, M.A.
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE TREE GROUP ㅣ PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Ms. Chae, the Vice-President of the Tree Group and a professional psychotherapist, graduated from Ewha Women’s University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and received her master’s degree from the same university.
After receiving clinical training from the Tree Group and its affiliated institution, EBTCS (Evidence-Based Treatment Center of Seattle), she completed DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Intensive training and education at Behavioral Tech.
Ms. Chae organized and oversaw the DBT professional workshops hosted by the Tree Group with guest speakers, Dr. Marsha Linehan, the pioneer of the DBT treatment, and Dr. Edna Foa, the pioneer of the PE (Prolonged Exposure) treatment.
Songhee Chae, M.A.
She is an expert in DBT and PE treatment and also BT (Behavioral Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for treating children, adolescents, and adults who experience psychological distress.
She is an expert in DBT and PE treatment and also BT (Behavioral Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for treating children, adolescents, and adults who experience psychological distress. Ms. Chae also provides clinical treatment for survivors of sexual violence and clients with trauma, as well as acts a clinical advisor for related institutions and associations.
– Co-author of a psychotherapy novel “The Seven Room”
– Received clinical training from EBTCS (Evidence-Based Treatment Center of Seattle)
– Completed DBT Intensive Training from Behavioral Tech, Seattle, USA
– M.A. in Psychology at Ewha Women’s University
– B.A. in Psychology at Ewha Women’s University
Seungha Lee, MSc
MANAGER OF DBT CENTER OF KOREA AND THE INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICESㅣPSYCHOTHERAPIST / ACTIVE LEARNING SPECIALIST
Ms. Lee is a psychotherapist and the manager of DBT Center of Korea and International Psychological Services (IPS) at the Tree Group.
She graduated from McGill University with a degree in Psychology and received a master’s degree with a Distinction in Child Development from University College London.
Her research at University College London focused on Inhibition in Early vs. Late Bilinguals. Ms. Lee also has a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate.
Seungha Lee, MSc
She provides DBT, behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for bilingual clients.
She provides DBT, behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for bilingual clients as well as psycho-educational services for bilingual children and adolescents who struggle with language transfer and language acquisition.
Especially, Ms. Lee provides clinical services for children and adolescents who suffer from various emotional and developmental issues, including but not limited to anxiety, depression, emotion dysregulation and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
– MSc in Child Development at University College London
– B.A. in Psychology at McGill University
Sumin Kim, M.A.
Active Learning Specialist | Psychological Services Coordinator
Ms. Kim is an Active Learning Coordinator at the Tree Group. She graduated with a double major in Psychology and Child Psychology & Education from Sungkyunkwan University and received her master’s degree in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling Major) at Yonsei University. After graduating with a master’s degree, Ms. Kim worked as a clinical researcher at Seoul National University Hospital Child & Adolescent Psychiatry lab and the National Child Developmental Center where she performed diagnostic clinical assessment and behavioral counseling sessions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopment disorders such as attention deficit disorder, intellectual disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. Through her developmental background of residing in diverse countries from an early age, Ms. Kim’s research focuses on multicultural youths and their psychological adjustments that occur when shifting between cultures. Ms. Kim is now providing psycho-educational services for bilingual children and adolescents to enhance their psychological and emotional development.
– Clinical Researcher at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH)
– SNUH Clinical Training for the Autism Diagnostic Obvservation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2)
– SNUH Clinical Training for the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R)
– SNUH Clinical Training for Behavioral Development Screening (BeDevel)
– University of Manchester Clinical Training for the Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT)
– University of Washington Clinical Workshop of Autism Diagnostic Observation Scehdule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2)
– M.A. in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling major) at Yonsei University
– B.A. Psychology and Child Psychology & Education at Sungkyunkwan University
Yekyung Kim, BSc.
Active Learning Center, Managerㅣ Active Learning Specialist
“I hope that children can live with enriched thoughts and hearts gained through various experiences.”
Yekyung graduated from Lambrook School in the UK, and attended Wellington College from Year 9 to Year 13. She excelled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and Diploma program. Wondering how her peers could enjoy learning Math, she wrote and presented a novel that incorporated mathematics as part of the Middle Years Program (MYP) project in the IB middle school curriculum.
In Year 13, she created and guided a curriculum to help younger students adapt to the school. As a member of the International Committee, she assisted international students in understanding British culture and the school culture while organizing events to promote cultural exchange.
Yekyung is also a piano and flute player, receiving a Distinction in music exams conducted by ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) in the UK.
Beyond academic pursuits, Yekyung’s various activities have led her to think deeply about the value of a meaningful human life. She has naturally developed an interest in bilingual language development and psychology, as she has witnessed the struggles of children facing difficulties in language acquisition and development due to her own experiences.
Yekyung graduated with Distinction from University College London for BSc. Psychology and Language Sciences. She engaged in research related to functional numeracy and decision-making processes.
She worked as a crisis counselor at Shout UK, a mental health counseling center in the UK, and interned at ASPIERATIONS, a nonprofit rehabilitation institution, where she helped students with neuro-developmental issues such as intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and attention-deficit disorders.
Currently, Yekyung collaborates with Dr. Cho Yong at the Active Learning Center to provide psycho-educational services for children and adolescents with language developmental delays in bilingual environments. She is also responsible for community outreach at the DBT Korea and the Tree Group.
Yekyung always prepares a variety of teaching materials and stories to make learning enjoyable and to help children accumulate diverse experiences. She communicates with the children and aims for them to study happily with smiles on their faces.
– Internship at the nonprofit rehabilitation institution ASPIERATIONS
– Crisis counselor at the UK mental health counseling center Shout
– Bachelor’s degree in psychology and linguistics from University College London”
