ABOUT US
PSYCHOTHERAPY
FOR KIDS/FAMILIES
Dr. Shannon McHugh and Dr. Jesi Sasaki aim to change the way that we view traditional mental health for children, adolescents, and families by focusing on prevention, brain development, the mind-body connection, and team sports concepts. Our mission is to educate children and parents on socio-emotional fitness through the most fun, engaging, and effective way: physical activity!
We believe that approaching mental health through the lens of overall well-being will not only reduce the emotional and behavioral problems present in children today, but will prevent mental health issues in the long run. As part of our unique approach, we have developed a curriculum that incorporates team sport concepts, cognitive behavioral therapy, physical fitness, and nutrition education to teach our children the life skills they need to thrive in our society. In addition, we also focus on parent training and education as a source of prevention as we attempt to tackle all components of a child’s life and look at a child through a holistic lens.
We started with a casual lunch between Dr. Shannon McHugh and Dr. Jesi Sasaki. They quickly discovered that they shared the same dissatisfaction of traditional therapy and the passion to incorporate physical fitness with mental health. As both reflected back on how being a student-athlete helped them to develop character traits needed to be successful, they started to think of innovative ways to recreate the same aspects in a therapeutic setting. The question that they wanted to answer was, “How can we teach important life skills to kids in an effective way while getting them to be active and have FUN?”
Our approach is unique in that it combines cognitive behavioral therapy, an evidenced-based treatment, with physical education and sports activities to improve both emotional and physical health. The basis of this approach is to align with the developing brain of a child and apply coping skills in real time through physical activities that will elicit the learning of life skills such as growth mindset, emotional regulation, humility, empathy, introspection and persistence. We also understand that change does not happen in a vacuum, which is why we strive to focus on parent support and training to more effectively instill change in children. While these techniques are centered around helping children change and grow, we are also passionate about creating a fun and engaging environment while they’re learning. We all know how hard it is to learn something when we’re bored or disinterested! Our goal is to shake up the traditional therapy model so much that kids won’t even know they are learning anything at all!
THE DOCTORS
Jesi A. Sasaki, Psy.D. (Left) | Shannon V. McHugh, PsyD. (Right)
Jesi A. Sasaki, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist (PSY30889)
Certified Fitness Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Dr. Sasaki is a licensed psychologist in the state of California and certified Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) therapist working in private practice. Dr. Sasaki specializes in working with children, adolescents, adults, and families who are struggling to manage behavioral and emotional problems. She utilizes evidenced-based practices to help clients with behavioral difficulties, emotional dysregulation, depression, anger, anxiety, specific phobias, OCD and PTSD. She also specializes in parent training and support to help parents manage their own anxiety and stress as it relates to their parenting style. Dr. Sasaki is passionate about preventative care through educating children about mind-body wellness and teaching kids about socio-emotional growth through movement.
Dr. Sasaki began her work in psychology as an undergraduate student at Occidental College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in Japanese. It was here, playing soccer at the collegiate level, that Dr. Sasaki realized the importance that team sports and physical activity played in harnessing essential life skills for success.
Dr. Sasaki completed her dual master’s degree and doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Hawaii School of Professional Psychology (HSPP) in 2011-2017. She then completed her pre-doctoral internship at San Mateo Medical Center in San Mateo, California from 2016-2017. Dr. Sasaki decided to move back to Los Angeles to complete her post-doctoral residency at Rich and Associates in Los Angeles, California where she stayed as Licensed Psychologist for one year.
Although her training and academic background allowed her to be at the forefront of evidenced-based treatments, she felt the traditional approach to child therapy was lacking in its ability to apply the changes outside of the office. This is when Dr. Sasaki decided to leave the safety of traditional therapy and venture out to pursue her passion of pioneering a new field of therapy through preventative care, education, and using the concepts of team sports to teach and apply life skills to children and retired professional athletes. In addition to her license as a clinical psychologist, she went on to become a certified personal trainer and a certified nutritionist to further pursue her passions.
Shannon V. McHugh, PsyD.
Licensed Psychologist (PSY29576)
Certified Fitness Trainer/Youth Fitness Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Dr. Shannon V. McHugh is a Los Angeles native, growing up just outside of Burbank, California. She earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Southern California (USC) in psychology with a minor in social work focusing on Children and Families in Urban America in 2011. She has always had a passion for working with children, and during her time at USC, she became even more dedicated to learning about child development, particularly how their brain development affects their ability to manage their emotions. She continued to pursue her goal of learning to work with children and families, and this led her to complete her dual masters and doctorate degree program from California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant University, Los Angeles, with an emphasis on family, children, and couples in 2016.
Currently, Dr. McHugh is a licensed psychologist (PSY29576), a certified Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) therapist, and a PCIT Level 1 Trainer. She does some psychotherapy work in a virtual teletherapy practice and specializes in assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults who have developmental and social delays, behavioral difficulties, those who have experienced traumatic events in their past, or those struggling with a combination of mental health and physical health and/or fitness concerns. She has expertise in helping parents learn how to reduce their parenting stress and feel more confident in tackling difficulties that come up with their relationships with their children. She is also a freelance blog writer who writes for various publications and also as an assistant editor for several academic journals.
In addition to her psychological credentials, Dr. McHugh is a certified fitness trainer and nutrition specialist that has a special credential as a youth fitness trainer from the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). Growing up, Dr. McHugh was an athlete from a very young age, participating in team sports throughout her entire childhood and has continued to be active in sports team environments as an adult. She believes that through team sports she learned some of life’s most important skills, particularly cooperation, flexibility, grit, and teamwork. Being active and athletic also helped her develop a strong set of personal goals and a healthy self-concept as well.
As a result, she has always seen a connection between physical fitness and mental health and has been eager to figure out how to merge her two greatest passions of her life: psychology and physical fitness. Research is currently centered around the connections between nutrition and physical activity on people’s mental health, and this has ignited Dr. McHugh’s passion to teach clients about these connections in hopes that this knowledge will vastly improve their lives and prevent the development of severe mental health concerns later in life. Her interests include working with clients to help them understand the way their brains and bodies work and how to have a healthy mental health and physical health balance for total body wellness.