Yu Li Cunningham

Dr. Cunningham holds licenses as a Clinical Psychologist in Indiana, USA and as a psychotherapist from the National Health Commission, and has over 15 years of clinical experience practicing psychology. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Nanjing University, and was later awarded master’s and doctorate degrees in Educational and Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri in the U.S. During her years of studies, she advanced her research in areas of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, acculturation, and religious coping/spirituality.

Dr. Cunningham has accumulated extensive experience working at international medical and healthcare institutions, where she is well-versed in crisis assessment/intervention and treatments for various clinical diagnoses, she has also worked at several school and community mental health centers in the U.S. Before residing in Shanghai, she served at University of Illinois Counseling Center as a psychotherapist and chair of the Eating Disorders Treatment Team, focusing on crisis intervention as well as diagnosis and treatment for eating disorders. Alongside her expertise in working with adults, Dr. Cunningham is dedicated to supporting children and adolescents with school refusal, behavioral and emotional challenges, parent-child conflicts, and neurodiversity concerns such as ASD and ADHD.

Dr. Cunningham employs an integrative approach in her work basing on human-centered approach while incorporating Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Play Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). She tailors personalized treatment plans to meet clients’ developmental needs and help facilitate their growth. Dr. Cunningham is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and has published research in psychology journals, including the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Cunningham is also dedicated to clinical supervision and provides regular supervision to trainees and therapists, and provides educational lectures for corporations, schools, and the broader community.

In her personal life, Dr. Cunningham is a mother to two sons and enjoys reading, theatre, calligraphy and traveling with her family.