About Me

As a Vietnamese-American therapist, I believe a diverse approach also helps challenge biases and supports the healing of marginalized communities by providing equitable, person-centered care. I was first introduced to psychoanalytic and psychodynamic thinking working as a therapist for RAMS, Adult Outpatient clinic (San Francisco, CA), working with war refugees. As I dabbled in other training such as EMDR and IFS, I discovered the importance of continuing education and developing a wider range of treatment styles to support individuals and their unique lived-experience. With a strong belief in the transformative power of human connection, I strive to support individuals in their journey of finding their communities and a sense of belonging. 

Allyship: I am active in supporting and advocating for individuals from marginalized or oppressed groups, ensuring a safe, inclusive, and empowering environment for all. In this context, allyship means not only offering empathetic care but also acknowledging and addressing systemic inequalities and power imbalances that may affect the individual’s mental health and well-being.

Depth work explores the deeper layers of a person's psyche, including unconscious thoughts, feelings, and patterns that influence their behavior, relationships, and emotional well-being. It goes beyond surface-level issues to uncover underlying conflicts, unresolved trauma, repressed emotions, and core beliefs. This approach aims to bring unconscious material into conscious awareness, facilitating profound transformation and helping individuals gain insight, emotional resilience, and a deeper sense of meaning in their lives.

Decolonizing practice in a therapy space involves critically examining and challenging the dominant, Western-centric frameworks and practices that have historically shaped therapy, while integrating indigenous, culturally diverse, and community-based perspectives on mental health and healing. It means shifting away from models of therapy that prioritize individualism, pathologize cultural expressions of distress, and fail to recognize the impact of colonization on mental health. A decolonized approach seeks to center the experiences, values, and healing practices of marginalized groups and reframe therapy to be more inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive. It involves challenging the assumptions and structures of Western psychological practices and creating a more inclusive, respectful, and culturally relevant therapeutic environment. By recognizing the legacy of colonialism and the importance of cultural identity in the healing process, I can better support clients from diverse backgrounds, fostering more effective and compassionate care.