In 2003, I recall my first real job in the healthcare field after college at Tri-City Mental Health. I was a counselor in a crisis unit that served as an intermediary for support instead of a hospitalization or a step down from hospitalization back home. It was fast-paced, intense, and exposed me to all of the programs the community level up to the state level. It sparked my desire to pursue something within the field of mental health. Although I had no idea what that would be, I was eager to find out.
Then I spent many years at Riverside Community Care, gaining direct care experience from working in various programs for adults with chronic mental health needs. Starting off as a counselor at a highly structured transitional group home for adult males, before becoming a program coordinator at an all female group home, and eventually ending my time there as running their highly demanding outreach programs for those who lived independently in the community. It was around this time that there was a shift in the field, as the state shutdown state hospitals and programs were restructured in response. What an eye-opening time collaborating with all of the different programs and state agencies. This was the time in my career where I worked long grueling hours and felt like I really earned my stripes. A mentor told me to consider graduate school, so I did!
During grad school at Simmons University, I provided in-home therapy for DCF families. This branch off into working with children made me realize that I was not cut out for it. Children bring out the softer, playful, innocent side of therapeutic work for me. I struggled with wanting to protect them while managing the demands of the systems in place. Of course, I returned to highly structured programs for adults, but this time in a women’s correctional facility. Here I ran skill-based groups and began to understand the complicated intersection of our healthcare and judicial systems. All of this while still working as an outreach service coordinator with Eliot Community Human Services.
Growing up as a second-generation Cambodian-American, I saw early on that mental health plagued my community. Once I was officially licensed, I dove into working as an out-patient therapist with the Khmer-speaking community in Lowell at Arbour Counseling. I was so grateful to work alongside a culturally-informed psychiatrist who has done some groundbreaking work with refugee immigrants. The majority of my work involved therapeutic support to first-generation refugee immigrants and all of the challenges that accompany that. This reinforced my passion for direct care in a one-on-one therapeutic setting, also shaping my specialty in trauma, anxiety, and depression.
In 2018, I established my private practice with an office in Boston and Lowell, seeking the freedom to strengthen my clinical skills within the familiar setting of individual therapy. I began incorporting more racial identity development into my work as I started seeing more young adults, many of whom were second-generation Asian-Americans that benefited from my knowledge of working with first-generation immigrants. This moment felt almost poetic, as if my work had come full circle. While in private practice, the medical field made a huge shift to incorporate telehealth services as part of standard care, significantly changing access to mental health services for everyone. As my clients moved out of state, I got licensed in those states too. I began attending more trainings and conferences, also developing more clinical skills around ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
In 2021, I was an adjunct professor in a CMHC (Clinical Mental Health Counseling) gradute program at Merrimack College. I’ve always sought out very different and new experiences because it fosters the most opportunity for growth, albeit sometimes hard uncomfortable growth. This experience really satisfied my curious mind. The seminar style classes felt similar to group work, but it definitely challenged me to adopt more of a mentorship role with some students. I got glimpses into how much had changed in the field, as my students were placed at some of the same programs I once worked in. I ended my time teaching with a reinforced love for learning and growth, especially in clinical skills, but also a harsh reminder of how much paperwork drained me.
The chance to facilitate mental health workshops has been a much more recent opportunity with Middlesex Community College. It challenges my creativity with teaching mental health concepts in concise and engaging ways. Workshops have forced me to cultivate better public speaking skills, connects me to the community work that I miss, and keeps me inspired to seek out new therapeutic techniques.
All of my past experiences have shaped my clinical style and the knowledge that came with it still informs my work today. I am forever grateful for every client I’ve ever had the privilege to work with and every colleague along the way. I don’t take any of this for granted, as I am so grateful to be able to do something I enjoy that feels meaningful and fulfilling. Excited to see what comes next!
Education:
Simmons University, Master of Social Work (MSW)
UMASS Amherst, Bachelor of Science (BS) in psychology and pre-med
Licenses:
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LiCSW) in Massachusetts, Washington, Minnesota
Licsensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Hawaii, California, Texas, Washington D.C., Ohio
Affiliations:
Member of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
