A bit about me…

Background

I am a queer, non-binary, Vietnamese-American Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist serving the Bay Area and California virtually. I was born in Southern California, the youngest child of Vietnamese immigrants. We were a low-income household and I learned early on how to put my head down, work hard, and make my own success. I would never want to be a burden, learning to constantly chase external validation.

I was good at doing what I was told to do. I developed strong protector parts who learned safety through being high-achieving, neglecting my needs to make sure others around me were happy. I practiced saying the right thing to comfort the people around me. I practiced listening and reflecting, but never sharing my own voice. I relied on praise from others as reassurance that I was good, that I was enough.

Since practicing Internal Family Systems (IFS), developed by Richard C. Schwartz, I have learned to see the genius of these protector parts in making sure my wounded exiles, who felt overlooked and neglected, would never go hungry. I have learned that, as brilliant as this system is (for a 3 year old), it’s actually quite fragile and unnecessary for a full grown adult. Most of all, I learned to strengthen by inner wisdom to cultivate a trusting relationship with my parts, and to provide my own wounded ones with the advocacy and care that they’ve needed from the start.

Training and Education

IFS Level 1 Trained (IFS Institute), 2026

Reiki Level 1 Certified, Usui Shiki Ryoho tradition, 2025

M.A. in Counseling Psychology, concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy - California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), 2021