Today we’d like to introduce you to Phuong Nguyen.
Hi Phuong, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a Vietnamese American psychotherapist, a former teacher and nurse, and someone whose life has been shaped by loss, resilience, and reinvention. I was born in Vietnam and came to the United States as a child in 1978, part of the wave of refugees known as “boat people.” My family fled Vietnam by sea after the war, risking everything in search of safety and a new beginning. Like so many others, we carried with us the trauma of war, the strength of survival, and the hope for a better future.
Growing up between cultures gave me a deep sensitivity to what it means to navigate spaces where you don’t always feel like you fully belong. That experience — of holding multiple identities, of translating between worlds — has deeply shaped the way I listen, relate, and practice as a psychotherapist.
Before I entered this field, I spent years in other helping professions. I was a high school teacher in Katy ISD and was named District Teacher of the Year in 2017 while teaching at Taylor High School. I also worked as an ICU nurse in both the Neuro and Cardiac ICUs and later in cardiac research at Houston Methodist. Each of these roles taught me something essential about healing, connection, and the human spirit.
Eventually, I found my way to social work, and it felt like everything — my personal history, my professional journey, my values — came together. Today, I specialize in working with teens, adults, and couples navigating trauma, depression, anxiety, substance use, and life transitions.
I’m also proud to serve as Vice President of the Houston Group Psychotherapy Society, where I chair both the Special Interest Group Committee and the Institute Committee. Being in leadership allows me to help shape the future of our field and to bring a more diverse, inclusive voice into spaces that haven’t always reflected the full spectrum of our communities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My path hasn’t been a straight line — it’s been shaped by loss, detours, and resilience. In my senior year of high school, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away within the year. She wasn’t able to attend my graduation, and her absence left a profound emptiness. Grief weighed heavily on me, and I struggled during my first year of college, ultimately leaving school. For a while, I put my own dreams on hold. It wasn’t until years later, after getting married and having my first son, that I returned to school and earned my bachelor’s degree.
After the birth of my second child — and the heartbreaking loss of my third — I found myself drawn to the field of nursing. I became an ICU nurse and later worked in cardiac research, devoting myself to caring for others in moments of crisis. When my daughter reached high school, I pivoted again, leaving nursing to become a high school teacher at Taylor High School — the very place where I would eventually be named District Teacher of the Year. Then in 2020, as the world was reckoning with the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself called to begin a new chapter once more. I left teaching to pursue social work, finally stepping into the role that had been quietly forming inside me all along — one where I could hold space for others’ pain, transformation, and healing, just as I had learned to hold my own.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Phuong Nguyen LCSW, LLC?
My practice is a trauma-informed psychotherapy space rooted in compassion, cultural sensitivity, and deep listening. I work with teens, adults, and couples, offering individual and relational therapy to those navigating depression, anxiety, substance use, life transitions, and the lasting impact of trauma. I specialize in helping clients explore the deeper stories that shape their lives — the ones rooted in family, culture, loss, survival, and identity.
What sets my practice apart is that I bring my full self into the work — not just as a clinician, but as a Vietnamese American, a former teacher and nurse, a mother, an immigrant, and someone who understands what it means to straddle worlds. I know what it’s like to grow up carrying unspoken grief, to feel the pressure to succeed while staying small, and to long for healing in a world that doesn’t always make space for it. Clients often tell me they feel seen in ways they haven’t before — especially clients from immigrant families, BIPOC communities, or those in caregiving or helping professions.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that my work is heart-centered and grounded in integrity. This isn’t just a business — it’s a calling. I want people to know that therapy with me isn’t about “fixing” anyone. It’s about creating a space where people can be fully themselves, ask the hard questions, and begin to move toward a more authentic and connected life.
My services include individual therapy, couples therapy, and EMDR for trauma. I integrate psychodynamic, somatic, and mindfulness-based approaches to support the whole person. Whether someone is working through childhood wounds, navigating addiction recovery, or simply longing for a deeper sense of meaning and belonging — they are welcome here.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in a bustling household as the second youngest of nine children — four older brothers and four sisters. Our home was shaped by a strong Vietnamese cultural identity, where respect, obedience, and family duty were deeply valued. My parents, like many who fled war and loss, held tightly to tradition as a way to preserve what had been left behind. That meant high expectations, strict rules, and a deep sense of responsibility from an early age.
At the same time, I was trying to fit in at school, learning English, absorbing American customs, and trying to make sense of a culture that often felt at odds with the one I lived at home. I remember the tension of wanting to be like the other kids — to go to sleepovers or wear trendy clothes — while knowing those things didn’t align with what was allowed in my family. I also experienced racism and discrimination, which made me feel even more like an outsider. That early experience of straddling two worlds — being too Vietnamese in some spaces and not Vietnamese enough in others — gave me a deep understanding of what it means to belong, and how complex that journey can be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.phuongnguyenlcsw.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phuongnc72/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562463029555
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phuong-nguyen-64194b1/
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/phuong-t-nguyen-houston-tx/1015663
Image Credits
Marie Mina & Claire Thom
