Eun-young Choi

Eun-young Choi studied Western History and Korean Language and Literature at Korea University. She writes picture books, novels, and essays, and is a member of the creative writing group Little Bird.

She worked for many years as an editor in the publishing industry and continues to work as a writer, translator, and planning editor. She also occasionally writes lyrics and musical scripts.

Her books include For Those Who Want to Write Picture Books, Seven Rooms, A Breathing Hole, I Am a Bowl, Blow, Come, We Live On, and Bubble Bubble Fermentation Fairies. She has also written scripts and lyrics for the musicals Nolbu and Sihwa: Those Who Dream Radiant Dreams, as well as the cantata Eyes of the Stars.

Songhee Chae, MA

Songhee Chae is Vice Director of The Tree Group and a psychotherapy specialist. She received her BA in Psychology from Ewha Womans University and her MA in Psychology from the same university. She completed clinical training through the collaborative program between The Tree Group / DBT Center of Korea and Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS) in the United States. She also completed DBT Intensive Training through Behavioral Tech.

 

Since 2007, she has provided treatment based on the standard program of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Her clinical work has focused on clients and families facing chronic and complex difficulties, including emotion dysregulation, self-destructive behaviors, a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems, and autism spectrum disorder. She also provides psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults using Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), Behavior Therapy (BT), and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

 

Ms. Chae coordinated major professional workshops hosted by The Tree Group, including the invited workshop by Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and the professional workshop by Edna B. Foa, PhD, the developer of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE). From 2023 to 2024, she served as Vice Director of the DBT Institute of Korea, overseeing DBT Intensive Training and various DBT education programs, and has been dedicated to the development and dissemination of DBT training and clinical practice in Korea.

 

Drawing on this clinical experience, she has continued to participate in the translation of major DBT and PE treatment books. She also coauthored the psychotherapy novel Seven Rooms with colleagues who share a commitment to conveying psychological healing through writing.

 

 

Education and Professional Training

 

  • Clinical training at Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS), USA
  • Completed DBT Intensive Training through Behavioral Tech, USA
  • MA in Psychology, Ewha Womans University
  • BA in Psychology, Ewha Womans University

 

Translated Books

 

  • DBT Teams: Development and Practice
  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Therapist Guide
  • Reclaiming Your Life from a Traumatic Experience: A Prolonged Exposure Treatment Program Workbook

 

Coauthored Book

  • Seven Rooms: A Psychotherapy Novel

Yong Cho, Ph.D.

Yong Cho, Ph.D, is a psychologist licensed in New York State and the founder and president of The Tree Group and the DBT Institute of Korea. After graduating from the University of Utah, he earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The New School for Social Research.


He began his clinical training at Beth Israel Medical Center in 1997. In 1998, he continued formal psychotherapy and DBT clinical training at Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. He completed an APA-accredited internship program at the same hospital. Beginning in the early 2000s, he became one of the first clinicians to apply DBT with Korean and Asian clients experiencing emotion dysregulation, borderline personality disorder, and Hwa-Byung symptoms. He also established the Asian American Family Clinic within the hospital system, where he provided psychotherapy for clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. His work was featured in The New York Times and other media outlets.


In 2003, he founded The Tree Group in Korea, where he has provided evidence-based psychotherapy programs including DBT, Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), and behavior therapy. In 2007, through collaboration with Marsha M. Linehan and DBT specialists in Seattle, he established the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center of Korea under The Tree Group. In 2008, he invited Dr. Linehan to Korea and organized a DBT professional workshop.


In 2023, he founded the DBT Institute of Korea, a professional training institute dedicated to the ethical dissemination and implementation of DBT. During 2023–2024, he collaborated with Behavioral Tech to organize the official DBT Intensive Training program in Korea. He currently provides DBT treatment and education for Korean- and English-speaking adults, adolescents, parents, and families as both a clinician and educator.



Education and Licensure

  • Licensed Psychologist, New York State, USA
    License No. 015603
  • PhD in Clinical Psychology
    The New School for Social Research, New York, USA
  • MSc in General Psychology
    The New School for Social Research, New York, USA
  • BSc in Psychology
    University of Utah, USA
 

Major Professional Experience

  • Former Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University
  • Former Director, Open Clinic for Victims of Human Rights Violations
  • Psychologist, Asian American Family Clinic, Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York, USA
  • Completed Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship, Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York, USA
  • Completed Clinical Psychology Doctoral Externship, Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York, USA
  • Completed Clinical Psychology Externship, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, USA