MULTICULTURAL THERAPIST HOUSTON, TX
Decide for yourself what comes next.
Therapy for bicultural, first-, and second-generation women navigating family, career, and relationship pressures. Available in person in Houston or online anywhere in Texas or California.
If it feels like too much, it’s because it is…
It’s a lot, right?
The constant mental math. The invisible labor. The guilt that shows up everywhere—with family, at work, when you're trying to enjoy something you chose for yourself.
Maybe you've told yourself it's not that bad. Other women have it worse. You should be grateful. Your family sacrificed everything. What will other people say?
But deep down, you know this isn't just anxiety—it’s the weight of living between two worlds. Trying to succeed. Trying to be a good daughter, a good partner, a good parent. Trying to honor where you come from without losing yourself in the process.
Therapy helps you sort through the stress, anxiety, and grief you’re carrying. Together, we figure out what’s truly yours to decide, what you’re allowed to want, and how to move forward without losing yourself—or the people you love.
You’re not trying to blow up your whole life—you just want to feel less anxious and more like you.
Dream it
Dream it
COMPLEX FEELINGS WELCOME
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COMPLEX FEELINGS WELCOME ⚬
Kissu Taffere, LCSW
Many of the women I see are navigating family pressure, strained relationships, career burnout, and decisions about parenting or whether to have children—all while trying to hold it together. They've learned how to stay connected to family (even when it hurts), how to make themselves smaller to keep the peace, and how to hide what it costs them. We start by telling the truth about that.
My approach draws on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), psychodynamic, and culturally-informed frameworks to help us understand what you’ve been carrying and how your emotions show up in relationships — not to blame anyone, but to notice patterns and respond in new ways.
As a first-generation Ethiopian-born Eritrean American from a large family, I bring cultural context into the room. I know what it means to navigate layers—roles, languages, expectations—and how much can go unspoken in the name of loyalty or survival. If your story doesn’t fit neatly into categories, you’re in the right place.
Before private practice, I spent a decade in the humanitarian field — in refugee camps, global institutions, and everything in between. It taught me how to sit with grief, contradiction, and complexity without rushing past it.
Outside of sessions, I write about hard things and doodle silly things. I also dabble in improv, which probably tells you most of what you need to know: I take this work seriously. I don’t take myself too seriously.
Ready to go deeper?
Therapy for Women
$200—50 min
For women who are tired of carrying guilt, anxiety, and pressure alone — and want a space to figure out what actually feels right for them.
Mother-Daughter Therapy
Coming Soon
For mothers and adult daughters who are ready to face the hard stuff together — with honesty, care, and space to move at your own pace.
How it works
Step 01
Book a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if we’re a good fit.
Step 02
If it feels right, we’ll schedule your first session and I’ll send the intake forms.
Step 03
From there, we begin — at your pace, with care and clarity.
If you feel the pull, let’s talk.
You don’t need to have all the words yet. If something in you is ready to slow down, get clear, and move differently — we can start there. The first step is a free 15-minute call to see if it feels like a good fit.
FAQ
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I'm an out-of-network (OON) provider in California and Texas.
What does "out-of-network" mean?
Out-of-network means I don't have a contract with your insurance company. However, many insurance plans still provide partial reimbursement for out-of-network care.To make the reimbursement process easier, I use a service called Thrizer — often you'll only pay your copay upfront and Thrizer handles submitting your claim. To find out if you have OON benefits and what your coverage looks like, see "How do I check my out-of-network benefits?" below.
Therapy sessions are also eligible expenses under most HSA and FSA plans, which may provide tax savings.
If you're not using insurance, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate of what your therapy sessions will cost — before you start or anytime during care. If a bill is ever $400 or more above that estimate, you can dispute it. To learn more about your rights, just ask — or click here.
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You can verify your OON benefits quickly and easily here: https://eligibility.thrizer.com/kissu
Just enter your information and insurance details, and you'll receive a breakdown of your coverage, including your deductible, copay, and reimbursement rate. This helps you understand your out-of-pocket costs before we begin working together.
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Culture matters because it shapes how you understand family, loyalty, respect, and identity—and these factors can affect your emotions, relationships, and choices. That said, culture might shape who you are in some moments, and not others. I don’t assume everything is about culture, and I don’t reduce people to it—but I pay close attention to how cultural dynamics show up, because ignoring them can make therapy far less effective.
I don’t need to share your exact background to work effectively with you, but I make it a priority to understand how culture shapes values, emotions, and relationships. Together, we explore how these dynamics affect your choices and connections, so support is grounded in your reality.
When culture is part of the conversation, I focus on what’s actually possible for you. I help you protect your well-being while honoring what matters most to you.
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I'm launching mother-daughter therapy sessions soon for those ready to work on the relationship together. I also work with mothers individually—particularly first- and second-generation, immigrant, and multicultural mothers working through their own identity, family patterns, or trying to understand generational tensions with family.
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I work best with people who want support for both immediate challenges and the deeper patterns that shape their emotions and relationships, and who are committed to doing the “hard work.” Together, we ease the intensity of your sadness, stress, and overwhelm, process what matters most to you, and create lasting change in how you feel about yourself and connect with the people you love.
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Not at all. Many women come in for one concern, but we often notice the same patterns show up across multiple areas of life—at work, in relationships, with family, and within yourself. For example:
Hiding parts of your life from your family, a partner, or colleagues—a relationship, a career change, or what you really need
Feeling like you can’t set boundaries without someone getting frustrated or not understanding the weight you carry
Running through everyone else’s reactions before making a decision
Downplaying accomplishments at work or feeling like a fraud despite your success
Saying yes when you mean no, then resenting yourself
Carrying your family emotionally or financially without clarity about your own feelings
Feeling guilty for wanting something different than what your family sacrificed for
Feeling exhausted from constantly translating yourself to your partner, colleagues, or family
These patterns aren’t just about family or romantic relationships—they often affect work, friendships, parenting, and your relationship with yourself.
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These are just some of the tools I might bring in, depending on what you need.
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) helps us tune into what’s happening underneath the surface—especially how emotions show up in relationships and affect patterns with others.Relational Psychodynamic Therapy looks at how past relationships shape current patterns, helping you understand what you’ve been carrying and shift what’s no longer working.
Mind-body practices support noticing how emotions show up physically—through breath, grounding, or bodily sensations—to help you connect with and process what you’re feeling.
None of this is one-size-fits-all. I’ll explain things as we go, and we’ll use what actually feels supportive for you.
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◦ Licensed Clinical Social Worker — Texas (#112859) and California (#120785)
◦ Master of Social Work — University of Texas at Austin, 2014
◦ Intensive training in relational psychodynamic therapy and Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
◦ Ongoing consultation to support relational and culturally responsive care
◦ Steering committee member and guest faculty, Coalition for Clinical Social Work, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
◦ Member, California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT)