New to Grow
I am a licensed bilingual psychologist (Khmer and English) with a passion for helping people explore themselves deeply, understand their relationships, and grow into their fullest potential. My approach blends humanistic, insight-oriented, and experiential therapies, including talk therapy, drama therapy, play, and expressive arts. I create a safe, compassionate, and nonjudgmental space where clients can slow down, reflect, and explore who they truly are. I work with immigrants, BIPOC individuals, and anyone navigating identity, transition, cultural stress, or existential anxiety as well as people seeking deeper self-understanding and meaningful growth. Many of my clients come looking for ways to process difficult experiences, explore relationships creatively, or develop resilience in the face of challenges. My approach is deeply shaped by my own experiences growing up in Cambodia. As my parents taught me and my siblings: “It is not the world of survival of the fittest, but the world where you always need to be a little kinder than necessary.” Like many Cambodian families, ours lived through the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge, facing loss, suffering, and hardship. Yet my parents always found ways to give, even when resources were scarce. Their example of kindness and generosity became a core teaching in my life, and it now guides my work as a therapist. Practicing kindness, compassion ,deep listening, presence, cultural humility, and sensitivity is central to how I support clients. I believe most of us are doing the best we can, and when we cannot see that in ourselves or others, life becomes more difficult. Therapy becomes a place where people can engage with themselves fully, let go of self-judgment, and cultivate self-compassion.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
The first session can feel different depending on your past experiences with therapy. If you’ve had therapy before, it may feel familiar or bring up certain expectations. If this is your first time, I understand that therapy can feel intimidating or vulnerable, and that’s completely normal. When we meet for the first time, our session will focus on getting to know each other and creating a safe space where you can feel comfortable sharing. I will ask simple, relevant questions to guide the conversation, such as what brought you to therapy, what challenges or experiences are most important to you right now, and what you hope to gain from this work. We may also explore the context of your life and relationships, and I may offer reflections or summarize what I hear to help you feel understood. Toward the end of the session, we will work together to identify initial goals or steps to help you begin moving forward. Therapy is a collaborative process, and the first session is an opportunity to build trust, clarify what you want from therapy, and start exploring ways to support your growth. No matter your background or experience with therapy, the first session is a gentle introduction to this journey, a chance to feel seen, heard, and understood as we begin the work together.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is my ability to create a safe, compassionate, and nonjudgmental space where clients feel free to explore themselves deeply. I combine humanistic, psychodynamic, interpersonal, and experiential approaches to meet clients where they are and guide them in gaining insight, understanding patterns, and reconnecting with their inner strengths. I am skilled in using creative and experiential methods, such as drama therapy, play, and expressive arts, to help clients access feelings and experiences that words alone may not capture. This allows clients to explore their inner world, relationships, and past experiences in ways that are felt, embodied, and meaningful, accelerating insight and growth. I am especially attentive to cultural, intergenerational, and identity factors, including the experiences of immigrants, refugees, BIPOC clients, neurodiverse individuals, and those processing historical or intergenerational trauma. My clients often describe feeling seen, understood, and empowered, and many report that therapy with me helps them gain clarity, develop resilience, and create meaningful change in their relationships and lives. Above all, I bring empathy, deep listening, and a commitment to kindness to every session, supporting clients as they navigate vulnerability, confront challenges, and move toward self-understanding and growth.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I work with a wide range of clients, including those experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, or the challenges of life transitions. While many people can benefit from therapy, my approach tends to be especially helpful for those who are curious about themselves, willing to look deeply into their inner world, and open to gaining new insights. Clients who work best with me are often those who are ready to experiment, try creative or experiential exercises, and engage in therapy in an active and embodied way. They may feel scared or vulnerable at times, but are willing to push forward and fully explore their experiences. I am particularly passionate about supporting immigrants, refugees, individuals with multiple minority identities, clients of Asian descent, and neurodiverse individuals who want to better understand family dynamics, cultural expectations, and intergenerational patterns. I also work with people who carry intergenerational or historical trauma, those processing grief or loss, as well as older adults navigating life transitions, searching for meaning, or exploring existential questions. If you are interested in insight-oriented and experiential work, want to understand yourself more fully, and are open to exploring new ways of processing your experiences, you are in the right place. Therapy with me is a collaborative and compassionate journey, designed to help you grow, heal, and connect more deeply with yourself and others.
Humanistic
My approach to therapy is rooted in humanistic psychology. I believe people are not broken. They are doing the best they can with the tools, experiences, and systems they have been given. At the heart of my work is creating a safe, compassionate, and nonjudgmental space where clients can slow down, be themselves, and explore who they are at a deeper level. I emphasize unconditional positive regard, acceptance, and empathy, trusting that meaningful change happens when people feel truly seen and respected. Rather than telling clients who to be or what to do, I support them in reconnecting with their own inner wisdom and moving toward growth, clarity, and self actualization. I am especially mindful of the experiences of immigrants and BIPOC individuals, including the impact of culture, identity, family expectations, and systemic stress. At the same time, my work is open to anyone seeking a more authentic, meaningful, and compassionate relationship with themselves. As Carl Rogers said, “People are just doing the best they can.” Therapy, to me, is a place where that truth is honored and where change becomes possible.
Psychodynamic
My work is also informed by psychodynamic and interpersonal therapy, with a focus on helping people understand themselves at a deeper level. Many of us repeat emotional and relational patterns without fully realizing it. In therapy, we slow down and gently look at these patterns to gain insight into where they come from and how they may be affecting your life today. This approach often includes exploring past experiences and your inner world, which is much richer and more complex than what is visible on the surface. There is a whole inner world inside of you that can be explored, understood, and learned from. By becoming more aware of these internal experiences, you can begin to loosen patterns that no longer serve you and strengthen the ones that help you grow. We also pay close attention to what happens between us in the therapy relationship, as these interactions often reflect how you relate to others outside of therapy. When things feel real in the room, they are often connected to real experiences in your relationships, work, and family life. This creates powerful opportunities for insight, change, and emotional growth. If you are interested in learning more about yourself, understanding your relationships more clearly, and growing as a person, this insight oriented approach can offer a meaningful and transformative path.
Experiential Therapy
In addition to insight based talk therapy, I also incorporate experiential approaches that invite clients to learn through direct experience in the therapy space. This may include drama therapy, play based interventions, movement, or expressive arts. At times, words are not enough to capture the full depth of human experience, especially when emotions, memories, or relationships feel complex or hard to explain. Experiential therapy helps move beyond purely logical or analytical thinking and allows us to access emotional, relational, and embodied ways of knowing. By engaging in creative or symbolic activities, clients can explore past patterns, inner conflicts, and relationships in a more immediate and meaningful way. These experiences often make insight feel more real, felt, and lasting rather than just understood intellectually. For example, we might use role play to explore different parts of yourself, create scenes that reflect relationship dynamics, or use metaphor and imagination to examine life transitions, cultural identity, or unspoken emotions. These approaches can offer distance and safety while also opening new ways of experiencing yourself and others. If you are open to trying creative and experiential forms of therapy, this approach can deepen self understanding, support emotional growth, and often help therapy move forward more quickly. Experiential work is always collaborative and paced carefully, and no prior experience with art or drama is needed. If you are curious about exploring yourself in a more active and embodied way, you are in the right place.