Jonathan Zielinski

Jonathan is a fully Chinese-licensed psychotherapist (license number: 30220260431070010414) originally from the United States working in private practice and cooperating with clinics in Shanghai. Jonathan is fully psychotherapeutically fluent in Mandarin and in English. He was the first foreigner to graduate in the fully Mandarin-taught Master’s in Applied Psychology master’s program at Fudan University along with the first foreigner to ever complete clinical internships at Shanghai University Psychological Counseling Center and Yangpu District Mental Health Ward. 

Jonathan graduated from the 3-year core training program in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) through the ISTDP Learning Centre in Melbourne, Australia. ISTDP is an evidence-based, emotion-focused approach that helps people move beyond simply coping with their difficulties toward understanding and transforming them. It is the only empirically-validated model of psychotherapy that proves that clients continue to get better, even after treatment termination. This model of psychotherapy is appropriate and effective for treating 86% of psychiatric disturbances.

Jonathan is one of the few openly gay mental health professionals in Shanghai and thus has extensive experience working with members of the LGBT community. As a western individual who has truly assimilated into areas of Chinese culture where no foreigner has gone before, he is also super passionate about helping those dealing with cultural difference-related issues and loves working with local Chinese people.