With extensive experience working with CEOs, founders, and executives, Dr. Ruan understands the unique challenges of owning a company and the intense growth and personal evolution that every founder must face. She empowers her clients with the knowledge, tools, and courage to overcome life's toughest obstacles, enabling them to reach their full potential.

A Compassionate Guide: Knowledge, Empathy, and Humor

Clients value Dr. Ruan's blend of expertise, empathy, and humor. Her down-to-earth approach to therapy creates a safe and empowering environment where clients can heal, learn to love and accept themselves and reconnect with their authentic selves, intuition, and voice.

Thriving in the Face of Adversity: Expertise and Specialization

Dr. Ruan's expertise spans a wide range of areas, ensuring comprehensive support tailored to your needs. From trauma recovery and anxiety management to navigating the complexities of founding your own business and thriving during the perimenopause/menopause journey, she equips you with the tools and strategies to triumph over life's toughest challenges. Furthermore, her specialization in healing for adult children of narcissists unlocks the path to reclaiming your identity and building healthy relationships. Dr. Ruan has advanced training in a wide range of evidence-based practices, including meditation and mindfulness-based treatments, CBT, psychodynamic therapy, CBT for Insomnia, neuropsychology, EMDR and Attachment-Focused EMDR, underscoring her expertise in trauma recovery and attachment-focused therapy.

A Thought Leader and Researcher: Advancing Women's Mental Health

Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Ruan is a passionate advocate for women's mental health. Dr. Ruan has engaged in research, publication, and presentations on mindfulness, self-care, religion & spirituality, prevention of vicarious trauma, minority safe spaces, empowerment for women, women entrepreneurship, and the impact of maternal trauma on children. Her dedication to advancing knowledge ensures her clients benefit from the latest research-based insights.

A Symphony of Healing and Growth: Embracing Life's Beautiful Work

Beyond her work with clients and her unwavering dedication to leading Thrive, Dr. Charlynn Ruan is a constant seeker of extraordinary experiences. When she isn't igniting personal revolutions, she is loving and laughing with her family, embarking on soul-stirring travels, and sharing her passion through writing and speaking.

Dr. Ruan's unwavering belief in the transformative power of post-traumatic growth fuels her extraordinary journey. She understands the boundless potential that lies within each of us, waiting to be unleashed. With an unwavering commitment to healing and growth, she champions the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit. Dr. Ruan knows that when we embrace the intense but beautiful work of personal transformation, we unlock the extraordinary capabilities that reside within us.

Dr. Ruan's life is a symphony of healing, growth, and unyielding passion. Her profound commitment to her clients and the human spirit drives her to continually explore new depths of understanding. With every encounter, she witnesses the remarkable resilience and transformative power of the human experience. Driven by this awe-inspiring revelation, she guides individuals on a remarkable journey of self-discovery, empowering them to overcome adversity and embrace their fullest potential.

Dr. Charlynn Odahl-Ruan is licensed in California (PSY29505), Texas (39884), and is certified with PsyPact (14932) which allows her to see clients in the 35+ member states.

“As both a psychologist and the CEO of Thrive, I cannot be complacent in unexamined biases, false beliefs, or internalized oppressive -isms. Seeing people be silenced or shamed by oppressive systems fills me with anger at the systems that oppress and fuels me to action to do my part in challenging and disrupting these systems. Being silent, nice, or indifferent are completely unacceptable responses. 

I challenge myself daily to become more comfortable with hard conversations, cultivate curiosity and not judgment, exist in vulnerability not defensiveness, and do the hard thing when it is the right thing. My ongoing goal is to continue to become a safer human for all who are around me. Beyond this personal work, I utilize my privilege and resources to build a group practice and a company that combats injustice and is a safe space of healing and growth. We only hire therapists committed to dismantling broken and oppressive systems and require all who work at Thrive to do ongoing individual and group work to spot and challenge systems of oppression in ourselves, the therapy room, and in the world. Our mission of creating safety and doing the work of social justice is ongoing, evolving, and humbling.  

 Through this work as a therapist and through the space we create at Thrive, everyone who comes into Thrive and into my office, can have the safety to let down the armor they have had to build to survive this broken world and let their vulnerable inner child come out and be healed. I want my clients to understand that sometimes we need a strong armor of defense and healing doesn’t mean we give that up fully. We need the fierce anger of a mama bear to protect the vulnerable and change this world…but, we also need a space to remove the armor, rest a bit, let ourselves cry and be comforted, and know that who we are and what we do matters. In my office, that isn’t seen as weakness and it will not be used against you. It will be celebrated as courage and strength. That is the safe space I seek to create.”

- Dr. Charlynn Ruan

Experience Dr. Ruan’s compassionate guidance and discover the true potential within you.

Thrive awaits, ready to support you every step of the way in New York, California, and around the U.S.