About Me

Dr. Houyuan Luo, C. Psych.

Fax: 437-561-7988

Address: 250 Dundas St. W., Suite 801, Toronto ON

Credentials, Training Background and Work Experiences

I am a Registered Psychologist (Health Psychology, Counselling Psychology, and Clinical Psychology) in the Province of Ontario, Canada. I am a Certified Therapist in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) by the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT) and a CBT Clinical Consultant in CACBT. I am also credentialed by the Canadian Register of Health Service Psychologists (CRHSP), which only certifies doctoral-level psychologists who meet the highest training standards in Canada. I decided to enter the mental health profession in high school because I wanted to help others. I completed my undergraduate education and a Master’s degree in China. Then I came to Canada as an international student and earned a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at the University of Alberta (Accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association). Since 2012, I have received my clinical training in a Chinese psychiatric hospital, two Chinese University Counselling Centres, Clinical Services, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Department of Psychosocial and Spiritual Resources, Cross Cancer Institute (Edmonton), and Adult Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Unit, Alberta Hospital Edmonton. I lived in Edmonton, Alberta for 4 years. I came to Toronto for my pre-doctoral residency at CBT Associates, a large private practice specializing in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Since then, I also worked as a psychologist at the Forest Hill Centre for CBT and the University of Toronto Health & Wellness Centre. During my employment at the University of Toronto Health & Wellness Centre, I designed and implemented a collaborative program with the psychiatrists’ team. The program combined Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help individuals with bipolar disorder and psychosis. I presented the program’s outcome at the 2021 Canadian post-secondary mental health conference.

Currently, I am the founder and clinical director of MindPeace Psychology, a doctoral psychologist-led mental health clinic in Downtown Toronto.

What I Do

I aspire to be an excellent clinician, clinical supervisor/trainer, and leader in the mental health profession. I believe that ongoing practice, reading, reflection, asking for feedback, and integrating them into my behaviour/practice are crucial to becoming better. Throughout my study and career journey, I strive to live up to my aspiration.

Clinically, I work primarily by combining Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion-focused Therapy (EFT) and Interpersonal Process. I value empathy, compassion, and understanding in clinical work. Also, I routinely seek client feedback to ensure my work meets their needs. I have received solid training in providing psychological assessment and psychotherapy to adults with various concerns such as depression, anxiety, self-criticism , emotional challenges, grief and loss, relationship challenges, stress management, anger management, psychosis and physical illnesses.

I am particularly passionate about issues related to the meaning of life. From my perspective, the ultimate goal of therapy (and life) is to help clients live a fulfilling life. However, many psychological and behavioural barriers, such as the challenges mentioned in the last paragraph, get in the way. Some common underlying reasons contribute to people’s suffering regardless of specific mental health diagnoses. To my understanding, it mainly centers on three issues: self-criticism (i.e., being too harsh on ourselves), emotional disturbance (i.e., being too emotional or too rational), and ineffective behaviours (e.g., procrastination, low problem-solving skills).

Additionally, when people have physical illnesses, particularly chronic conditions (e.g., chronic pain and cancer), their lives will change significantly as the physical diseases cause various challenges and usually divert people from their original life path. The abovementioned issues are complex, requiring comprehensive clinical approaches to address them, accept the challenges, or reduce their impact. In my work, I combine CBT, ACT, EFT, and interpersonal process to meet clients where they are and help them live a fulfilling life.

Click here to learn more about the services I provide.

In terms of clinical supervision/training, my doctoral dissertation examined clinical supervisors’ experiences of asking supervisees for feedback on their supervision. I am starting to gain clinical supervision experience. Also, I have provided introductory workshops on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through the Association of Chinese Helping Professionals and Psychologists–International (ACHPPI).

I tend to deliver training in a down-to-earth manner and use language that aligns with audiences’ backgrounds.

Leadership-wise, from 2016 to 2017, I served as a Student Representative and Board Member on the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS), the international professional organization for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Following this, I co-founded the Asian Culture Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Group within ACBS.

In addition, I served as chair of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)’s Counselling Psychology Section for 2022–2023 and was honoured with the section’s Distinguished Member Award in 2024. I am also serving as President of the Association of Chinese Helping Professionals and Psychologists International (ACHPPI) for the 2024–2026 term.

Furthermore, I also served as a Board Member of the Hong Fook Mental Health Association in the Greater Toronto Area and as a member of both the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA) and the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT).

Professional Development Training Attended

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) online training

09/2015-08/2016, Evidence-based Practice Institute, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Facilitator: Dr. Matthieu Villatte

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) online training

09/2016-08/2017, Evidence-based Practice Institute, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.

Facilitator: Dr. Kelly Koerner

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) workshop

06/06/2019 – 06/07/2019, Evidence-Based Therapy, Training and Testing, Toronto, ON, Canada

Facilitators: Drs. Candice Monson and Philippe Shnaider

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Level 1 Intensive Training

09/08/2021 – 12/08/2021, York University Psychology Clinic. Toronto, ON, Canada

Facilitators: Drs. Leslie Greenberg and Serine Warwar

Clinical Hypnosis Level 1 Workshop

01/12/2022 – 04/12/2022, The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH). Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.A.

Facilitators: Delle Jacobs, Drs. Akira Otani, Audrey Cleary, Mary Wells, and Linda Thomson

Clinical Hypnosis Level 2 Workshop

19/10/2023 – 22/10/2023, The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH). Lincolnshire, Illinois, U.S.A.

Facilitators: Drs. David Reid, Louis Damis, and Samantha Price

Emotion-Focused Therapy for Complex Relational Trauma

22/10/2024 – 25/10/2024, York University Psychology Clinic. Toronto, ON, Canada

Facilitator: Dr. Sandra Paivio

Presentations at Peer-Reviewed Local, Regional, & National/International Conferences

Luo, H., Van Vliet, J., Woodend, J., Sepehry, A. & Villebrum, G. (June 2024), Inclusive Evidence-Based Practice: A Roundtable on Update to CPA Guidelines. Round Table Conversation Session presented at the 2024 Canadian Psychological Association Annual Convention, Ottawa, Canada

Luo, H., (November 2023). Relational Approach to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Invited plenary presented at the inaugural Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Low-Middle-Income Countries International Conference (ALIC-ACBS), online.

Luo, H., (June 2023). Integrating Interpersonal Process and CBT. Skills class presented at the 10^th World Congress of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT), Seoul, South Korea.

Luo, H., (April 2022). A Framework to Integrate CBT, ACT, EFT and CFT. Mini-workshop presented at the 38^th annual meeting of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI), Laussane, Switzerland.

Luo, H. & Mumtaz, S. (August 2021). Collaborative Care for Students with Bipolar Disorder and Psychosis. Presentation presented at the Collaborations for Change: Connecting Research and Practice in Post-Secondary Mental Health, Online, Canada.

Luo, H., Masuda, A., Loureiro, L., Payne, J. & Rosen, D. (July 2020). Providing Culturally-appropriate ACT. Panel discussion presented as a chair at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science World Conference, Online.

Miller, J., Luo, H. & Pott, T. (July 2020). Transitioning to Counselling Practice at a Distance. Panel discussion presented as a panelist at the 2020 Canadian Psychological Association Virtual Annual Convention, Online, Canada.

Luo, H. & Hanson, W. (October 2018). Connecting Counselling Psychology’s Values to Practice. Poster session presented at the second Canadian Counselling Psychology Conference, Calgary, AB.

Hanson, W., Poth, C., Dubue, J., Luo, H., Zhou, H., & Armstrong, D. (August 2016). Mixed Method Research in Counselling Psychology: A 10-year Follow-up. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

Luo, H., (July 2015). Affirmative Counselling for LGBT Population. Paper session presented at the 2015 Conference of Committee of Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Chinese Psychological Society, Beijing, China

Publications in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals or Book Chapters

Zhu, Z., Chao, M., Gaskin, J., Cao, H., Luo, H. (2025). The History and Theoretical Framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). In: Wen Li, W., Griffith, G.M., Shapiro, S., Zhu, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Third-Wave Psychotherapies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00353-9_5

Shi, J. Y., Cao, Y. M., Luo, H. Y., Liu, S., Yang, F. M., & Wang, Z. H. (2023). Effect of a group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention on self-esteem and psychological flexibility in patients with schizophrenia in remission. Schizophrenia Research, 255, 213-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2023.03.042

Chen, Y., Luo, H., Wang, S. et al. (2023). Preliminary validation of a Chinese version of the comprehensive assessment of acceptance and commitment therapy processes. Current Psychology 42, 15528–15538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02654-y

Chen L, Liu J, Yang H, Ma H, Wang H, Huang Y, Cheng H, Tang D, Liu M, Luo H, Qu H, Shen D, Zhang N. (2018). Work-family conflict and job burn-out among Chinese doctors: the mediating role of coping styles. General Psychiatry. 2018 Aug 21;31(1):e000004. doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2018-000004. PMID: 30582114; PMCID: PMC6211271.