Hi, I’m Thao.
I became the therapist I wish my family and I had growing up.
Growing up as the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, I learned early how deeply culture, family, and expectations can shape the way we see ourselves. I also learned how difficult it can be to talk about mental health when vulnerability isn’t always something we’re taught to make space for.
Those experiences are part of what led me to become a therapist. Today, I have the privilege of helping others better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns they’ve inherited—while deciding what they want to carry forward and what they’re ready to change.
What it’s like to work with me
I believe therapy should feel like a conversation, not a one-sided experience. I’ll listen closely, ask thoughtful questions, and gently challenge you when it may help you see something differently. At the same time, I believe therapy should feel human. There can be room for warmth, humor, curiosity, and even laughter alongside the harder conversations.
We’ll look beyond what is happening on the surface and explore the experiences, relationships, and cultural messages that may have shaped how you learned to move through the world. My role isn’t to tell you who to become—it’s to help you understand yourself more deeply so you can make choices that feel more intentional and more like your own.
My approach is shaped by both training and lived experience.
Over the years, my work as a therapist has taught me that healing rarely happens in isolation. We are shaped by our families, our cultures, our relationships, and the experiences we carry with us. My clinical training helps me understand those patterns, but my own lived experience helps me appreciate how complicated it can be to untangle them.
My own experience navigating two cultures has also given me an appreciation for what it can feel like to balance family expectations with your own needs—honoring where you come from while figuring out who you want to become. I bring that understanding into the room while recognizing that your story is uniquely yours.
Professional background
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Licensed in California
Clinical focus
Asian American mental health · Intergenerational patterns · Relationships · Identity & life transitions
Beyond the therapy room
Mental health advocacy, community education & culturally responsive care
Ready to make space for yourself?
You don’t have to have everything figured out before starting therapy. We can begin with where you are.