Understanding you in the context of your life
Counselling • Psychotherapy • EMDR Therapy
Sometimes you know exactly what is troubling you. Sometimes you only know that something doesn’t feel right.
You may be experiencing anxiety, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties or a significant change in your life. Something from the past may still be affecting you. Or life may look reasonably okay from the outside, while inside you feel overwhelmed, disconnected, uncertain or stuck.
Hello, I’m Phuong (Teresa) Tran, a Psychotherapist, PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor, EMDR Therapist, Clinical Supervisor, Trainer and Spiritual Care Practitioner.
My work brings together psychological understanding, trauma-informed therapy, developmental and cultural perspectives, and an awareness of the connection between mind, body and life experience. I also make space for questions of meaning, identity and spirituality when these are important to you.
You don’t need to know what kind of therapy you need before making contact. We can begin with what is happening for you now and work from there.
Melbourne • In-person & Telehealth • English & Vietnamese
No referral required
You don’t need to know where to begin
I work from a person-centred, evidence-informed and integrative approach, drawing on different therapeutic frameworks according to your experiences, needs and goals.
These may include EMDR, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), DBT-informed practice, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Emotionally Focused approaches, Family Systems, mindfulness and other integrative therapeutic methods.
But therapy does not begin with choosing a method.
It begins with understanding what you are experiencing, what may be contributing to it, what you need, and what you hope will be different.
I consider your experience in the context of your life as a whole; including psychological, emotional, relational, developmental, cultural and physical factors, as well as spiritual or existential concerns when these are meaningful to you.
Different approaches may be useful at different times. We can consider together what may be appropriate for you as our work develops.
The approach should be guided by the person, rather than asking the person to fit the approach
How I can help
People come to counselling for many different reasons. Sometimes there is one particular concern. At other times, several parts of life may be affecting each other.
Trauma & PTSD
Experiences from the past can continue to influence how we feel, relate to others and respond to situations in the present. Therapy can help us understand these responses and work with the ways trauma may still be affecting your life.
Anxiety & Emotional Difficulties
You may be experiencing ongoing worry, stress, fear, low mood, emotional overwhelm, anger, low self-esteem or difficulty managing thoughts and emotions. Sometimes there is a clear reason; sometimes it is harder to understand why you feel the way you do.
Relationships & Family
Counselling can provide space to explore relationship difficulties, communication, conflict, attachment patterns, family dynamics, parenting concerns and the ways relationships affect emotional wellbeing.
Grief, Loss & Life Transitions
Grief is not limited to bereavement. Loss can also come with separation, migration, changes in health, work or family roles, ageing, or a period of life ending differently from what you had expected.
Culture, Migration & Identity
Living between cultures, languages and different expectations can affect identity, relationships and our sense of where we belong. Therapy can provide space to explore migration, cultural expectations, family responsibilities, intergenerational experiences and questions of identity and belonging.
Chronic Illness, Cancer & Palliative Care
Serious or long-term illness can affect much more than physical health. It may bring uncertainty, fear, grief, changes in relationships and roles, and questions about the future. I also work with people and families affected by cancer, serious or life-limiting illness, palliative care and end-of-life concerns.
Spiritual & Existential Concerns
There are times when practical strategies alone are not enough. Questions may arise about meaning, purpose, suffering, mortality, faith, identity or what matters most. These concerns can be explored respectfully, whether or not you identify with a particular spiritual or religious tradition.
Experience across cultures, generations and different stages of life
My professional experience spans more than 16 years across psychology, counselling, psychotherapy, mental health, hospitals, schools, Employee Assistance Programs, private practice, psycho-oncology, palliative and hospice care, clinical supervision, education and spiritual care.
Before moving to Australia, I worked as a psychologist in Vietnam for more than 12 years, alongside my work and training in counselling and psychotherapy.
I have lived in Vietnam, the United States and Australia and have worked with people from many cultural and linguistic backgrounds. These experiences have given me both a personal and professional understanding of what it can mean to move between languages, cultures, values, family expectations and different ways of belonging.
In Australia, I am a PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor, ACA Level 4 Registered Counsellor and ACA Registered Supervisor.
Mental health work taught me to understand the person beyond symptoms and diagnostic labels.
Trauma work taught me that responses which may seem unhelpful today can have understandable origins.
Cross-cultural work taught me to pay attention to language, family, migration, identity and belonging.
Psycho-oncology and palliative care taught me something different again:
Not everything in life can be fixed.
Sometimes people need treatment or practical strategies. Sometimes they need help making sense of what has happened. And sometimes they need someone who can stay with a difficult experience or question without rushing to solve it.
Knowing the difference matters.
Between two languages, there can be an entire life
I am fluent in English and Vietnamese, with Vietnamese as my native language.
For me, bilingual therapy is about much more than translating words.
Language can carry childhood, family roles, respect, responsibility, shame, love, migration, identity and belonging.
As a Vietnamese-Australian practitioner, I understand that emotional wellbeing cannot always be separated from culture, family and migration experiences. You are welcome to speak in English, Vietnamese, or move naturally between both languages during our work
Professional knowledge with a human approach
My education, professional training and ongoing development span counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, mental health, psycho-oncology, clinical pastoral education, grief and loss, family intervention, disability support, school-based practice, and palliative and hospice care.
Professional knowledge provides an important foundation for my work, but qualifications and techniques alone do not create a therapeutic relationship.
How you are listened to matters.
Whether you feel respected matters.
Whether your culture, values and circumstances are understood matters.
And whether you feel able, over time, to speak openly about difficult experiences matters.
My aim is to bring together professional knowledge, evidence-informed therapeutic practice and genuine human connection, while keeping your experiences, needs, preferences and goals at the centre of our work.
When something from the past still feels present – Trauma & EMDR Therapy
Sometimes you can know logically that something is over and that you are safe now, yet your mind or body continues to respond as though the danger is still present.
Certain memories, situations, relationships, sensations or emotions may trigger reactions that feel difficult to understand or manage.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a structured psychotherapy approach that may be used as part of treatment for trauma and PTSD.
I don’t automatically recommend EMDR simply because someone has experienced trauma.
We first consider your history, current circumstances, resources, goals and readiness, and then decide together whether EMDR may be appropriate.
EMDR is one approach within therapy — not the whole therapeutic relationship.
We cannot change what happened.
But we can work with the ways those experiences may still be affecting your life today.
We understand the person before choosing the approach
I work from a person-centred, evidence-informed and integrative approach, drawing on different therapeutic frameworks according to your experiences, needs and goals.
These may include EMDR, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), DBT-informed practice, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Emotionally Focused approaches, Family Systems, mindfulness and other integrative therapeutic methods.
But therapy does not begin with choosing a method.
It begins with understanding what you are experiencing, what may be contributing to it, what you need, and what you hope will be different.
I consider your experience in the context of your life as a whole — including psychological, emotional, relational, developmental, cultural and physical factors, as well as spiritual or existential concerns when these are meaningful to you.
Different approaches may be useful at different times. The way we work is guided by your experiences, circumstances, needs and goals, and we can consider together what is appropriate for you.
The approach should be guided by the person, rather than asking the person to fit the approach.
Clinical supervision grounded in real-world experience
Alongside my therapeutic work, I provide clinical, professional and reflective supervision for counsellors, psychotherapists, counselling students and professionals across health, community, education and other helping professions.
I am an ACA Registered Supervisor, and my supervision experience spans both Vietnam and Australia.
In Vietnam, I have more than 10 years’ experience supporting psychology students and early-career psychology practitioners, 8+ years working with mental health professionals, 7+ years with teachers and educators, and 6+ years supporting multidisciplinary healthcare teams in oncology and palliative care within hospital settings.
In Australia, I have 3 years’ experience providing clinical supervision to counsellors and counselling students.
My approach to supervision is collaborative and reflective, with attention to client work, clinical thinking, ethics, culture, professional boundaries, practitioner wellbeing and ongoing professional development.
Supervision provides space to think more deeply about your work, strengthen your practice and continue developing as a practitioner.
CONTACT
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232 Main Road East,
St Albans, VIC 3021
