Tri Nguyễn, Ph.D., LMFT

Bio

Tri Nguyễn is a bilingual, dually licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California and Washington State. When Tri was 10 years old, his family immigrated from Việt Nam and settled in San Diego. He was the first in his family to graduate from college. He earned an MS in Family Therapy from SDSU and a Ph.D. in psychology from The Taos Institute and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2021. His research examines the interrelationship between interculturality, decoloniality and multicultural competence counseling practices.

Between 2015-2022, Tri was a clinical and advocacy counselor with the US Navy and worked with service members in San Diego, Japan, Djibouti and Washington State. Prior to that, he worked with the Union of Pan Asian Community, Community Research Foundation, SAY San Diego, and International Rescue Committee. In 2021, Tri started his own private practice, Constructing Possibilities PLLC, offering individual, couple and family therapy to California and Washington State residents.

Areas of Specialization

Tri has over 15 years of experience working with monolingual/bilingual Asian-Pacific Islanders/Latino, military, and low-income populations. While his therapeutic approaches are structured around collaborative, systemic and narrative frameworks, they are also influenced by social constructionist ideas and its application with social justice issues, restorative practices, cultural competence, and decoloniality.

Interests

Professional Interests

Tri is passionate about reducing stigma of mental health and increasing access to care for underserved/unserved populations. Thus, he is interested in exploring indigenous healing practices that are not centered on Euro-American traditions. Tri is a clinical fellow member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (AAMFT), the Washington Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (WAMFT), and the Asian American Psychological Association. He's in the final steps of obtaining AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation.

Personal Interests

Outside of his professional work, Tri enjoys playing basketball with his friends, traveling/hiking, exploring coffee shops around town, and spending time with his family.

Publications

Nguyen, T. (2021). A Decolonizing Analysis of Multicultural Competence Counseling Approaches. Vrije Universiteit Brussel