Hi, I’m Vy!

Let me guess. You’re reading through several therapy profiles, trying to find someone you think can understand you and what you’ve been through.

It’s human nature to look at a person’s professional credentials and qualifications and wonder, “Is this someone I can trust with my story?”

So instead of giving you another piece of my resume, I want to share a little bit about my “why.”

Professionally

For the longest time, I thought I had to absorb the latest and greatest trainings and education to become the “perfect therapist.” So I spent a lot of time and energy doing exactly that.

I still love learning and nerding out. I enjoy researching new approaches, integrating evidence-based tools, and continually growing as a clinician. But through my work with clients, I’ve learned that the most powerful mechanism of change is often much simpler: the human connection between us and the experience of genuinely feeling cared for, understood, and accepted.

Therapy is an intimate and vulnerable process. I believe you deserve to know a little about the person sitting across from you first, not just what’s written on my resume.

A Little About Me

I am an introvert, recovering perfectionist, over-functioner, overthinker, workaholic, and “want-to-do-it-all”-er.

You know the type. The person who strives to win all the awards, accomplish all the things, and constantly push a little harder because somewhere along the way, it started to feel like achievement was the way to prove your worth.

For a long time, I struggled with the anxiety of not being “enough.” My sense of value became closely tied to my productivity and performance.

And to be honest, I know what it feels like to look like you’re doing well on the outside while carrying a lot on the inside.

What Shaped Me

As an American-born child of Vietnamese immigrants who did not speak English, I grew up navigating two cultures while trying to figure out how to succeed in school, keep up with my peers, and hold everything together.

I learned to work hard and be responsible, but I didn’t always know what to do with the emotions underneath it all. Feelings weren’t something we talked about much.

As a Highly Sensitive Person, I also grew up assuming that how deeply I felt things was a weakness. Like many of us, I absorbed messages from family, culture, and society that told me I needed to be more or less of who I was to be considered “enough.”

Those experiences shaped how I see people today. They taught me that there is usually much more beneath the surface of what we see, and that a person’s struggles rarely exist in isolation.

Why I Became a Psychologist

I’ve always wanted to be a helper.

I’m fortunate that I now get to wake up every day and do work I genuinely love. I get to sit with incredible people as they navigate some of the hardest, most complicated, and most meaningful parts of being human.

With every client, I learn and grow too. I’m endlessly curious about people, their stories, and the ways we make sense of ourselves and the world around us.

My passion for counseling and my belief in the inherent worth of every person continue to shape the way I practice.

What I Believe About You

My hope is that you come to understand that you can be both a work in progress and a masterpiece exactly as you are.

You are worthy, even when you don’t feel worthy.

You are enough, even if you don’t believe that yet.

I don’t have a magic wand that can remove pain or suffering. What I can offer is years of clinical training, evidence-based tools, genuine curiosity, and a steady presence as you navigate the difficult parts.

My goal is not to help you become some polished, “better” version of yourself.

It is to create a space where all parts of you are welcome, including the parts you’ve learned to hide, criticize, or push away. You don’t have to show up as the happiest, most productive, most put-together version of yourself here.

You get to show up as you, unfiltered and unmasked.

And Finally...

I’m grateful that you’re considering me as someone who gets to walk alongside you through both the struggle and the beauty of being human.

I genuinely believe I have the best clients. I love getting to know their stories, helping them discover their strengths, and watching them build a different relationship with themselves and the people they love.

Somewhere along the way, I get to learn something from each person who trusts me with their story.

And that’s my why.

Enneagram: Type 1 | Myers-Briggs: ISFJ

Not psychometrically valid, but still fun to know :)