experience

Ling has provided onsite counseling and coaching through Concern, at Google, since 2011, where he has helped hundreds of Google employees work towards their personal and professional goals.

university faculty

Ling is on faculty at Santa Clara University, teaching graduate level counseling classes in couple therapy, complex trauma, systems theory, and multicultural counseling. Previously, he has been on faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and John F. Kennedy University and was a regular guest lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education and UC Berkeley Extension.

Ling is the creator of SONAS Therapy™, integrating somatic therapy, object relations therapy, neuroscience, agency-based techniques, and systems therapy into a coherent, holistic therapeutic framework. Special emphasis is placed on client strengths and resilience and the connection between the mind and the body. For more information on SONAS Therapy™ and trainings, please visit: https://www.therealling.com/sonas/

Ling has studied a variety of therapeutic modalities, including Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-based Therapies, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Existential-Humanistic Therapy, Trauma-focused Hypnosis, Positive Psychology, Object Relations Theory, Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi Psychotherapy, Emotionally-focused Couple Therapy, Gottman Couple Therapy, and others. He has completed all educational requirements for certification as Dialectical Behavioral Therapist, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional. 

silicon valley engineer

As a former engineer, Ling enjoys working with Silicon Valley professionals on emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness. His clients include hundreds of individual contributors, managers and executives from Google, Apple, StartX, Stanford Business School, Facebook, and numerous startup founders and CEOs.

Before becoming a therapist, Ling had more than a decade’s experience working in a variety of exciting roles at venture-backed startups and well-known technology companies, and was part of the original engineering team that invented the world’s first HDMI chip which subsequently became a worldwide standard. He has a deep understanding of the environment and stress at the workplace.

Advanced Facilitator and coach

As a graduate of the Group Facilitation Training Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business and as an Advanced Facilitator since 2007, Ling worked closely with senior faculty and facilitated the most popular elective on interpersonal dynamics and emotional intelligence for MBA students. Ling was also an executive coach in the Advanced Leadership Program for Asian American Executives at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education.

non-profit clinical director

Ling was the founding Clinical Director of the San Jose Chapter of A Home Within, the largest national non-profit organization focused on serving the emotional needs of foster children. He continues to provide pro-bono therapy through A Home Within as well as Give An Hour Foundation, a non-profit serving the mental health needs of military veterans and their families.