Kailani A. Akana Murphy, LCSW

Kailani A. Akana Murphy
LCSW
New Jersey

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of New Jersey with a wide range of experience working with children (age 4 and up), adolescents, adults, couples and families since 2013. My experience includes working in outpatient, school, residential, in-home and outpatient IOP/PHP settings providing therapy addressing anxiety, depression, AD/HD, adjustment to life transitions, emotional regulation difficulties, school and work challenges, communication issues, intra-family difficulties, intermittent explosive disorder, oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, co-occurring substance-use disorders, gender and identity-based issues, as well as a broad-spectrum of trauma. I believe in providing holistic, client-centered care utilizing evidence-based approaches; these include Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness strategies, play therapy, couples therapy, family systems therapy, and culturally- and trauma-informed therapies. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Therapy (EMDR) for the treatment of trauma. I consider therapy to be a partnership, where I strive to provide an atmosphere within which clients feel they can be open and communicate their needs.

I graduated from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2018, where I received my Masters of Science in Social Work in Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice with a concentration in Family, Youth and Children. While at CSSW, I completed a Research Assistantship with Dr. Monique Jethwani in partnership with NYU Tandon’s School of Engineering. I received my Bachelors of Science in Human Development with an emphasis in Adolescent Development and Socio-Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Davis in 2015.

I am a professional member of the following organizations:

• National Association of Social Workers
• Asian American Psychology Association
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
• National Asian Pacific Women’s Forum