Gayook Wong MSW

Gayook Wong, MSW, had over 35 years of clinical experience specializing in the ongoing management of trauma, having received her Masters of Social Work Degree from Rutgers University in 1982. As a survivor of sexual, physical, emotional, and racial abuse herself, Gayook counseled countless others in facing the aftermath of trauma, including Vietnamese boat children in foster care, war veterans, prisoners of war, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. She also brought her expertise to the corporate world as a consultant for AT&T management on issues of sexism, racism, and homophobia.

Having descended from a long line of qigong¹ practitioners from her paternal lineage, Gayook offered a holistic blend of psychotherapy and qigong in her work with survivors over the years.

Born in Shanghai, China, Gayook and her parents escaped communism and fled to the United States when she was 3 years old. Gayook believed the psychological imprint of this event, along with her other early childhood experiences of trauma and abuse, eventually led to her cancer diagnosis in 2011.

From 2017 until its closing in November of 2020, Gayook moderated the Facebook Option B Support Group for Survivors of Abuse and Sexual Assault, established by the Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Foundation, the former is COO of Facebook. Upon learning from the group how difficult it is to find trauma specialists, Gayook decided to answer the call for widespread trauma education and became a blogger for Psychology Today. She posted about different types of trauma, emphasizing the urgent need for survivors to heal unresolved trauma to lower their risk for disease and live longer, more fulfilling lives.

In her spare time, Gayook traveled the globe to learn about different cultures, practiced qigong exercises daily, read prolifically, and spent as much time as possible with her 5-year-old granddaughter. She passed away in September 2021.

¹Qigong is a 6,000-year-old Chinese energy practice and joins acupuncture and herbal medicine under the umbrella of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).