Today we’d like to introduce you to Trang Phan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My path to where I am today has been anything but linear, but looking back, there is a thread that connects all of it.
I was born in the South and raised as a first-generation Vietnamese American by immigrant parents who came to the United States during the Vietnam War. My childhood was shaped both by their experiences and by the complexities of growing up Vietnamese American in places where we were often very different from the people around us.
I experienced racism and bullying at a young age, and challenges with acculturation and stability meant that our family moved frequently. By the time I graduated, I had moved throughout the Midwest and eventually to Colorado, attending three elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools across several states. I became the quiet observer—watching people, reflecting, and trying to understand human behavior. That led me toward deep self-inquiry and a lifelong interest in the psyche.
I was also sensitive to the suffering of others and carried a strong sense that I wanted to help people. Years later, I learned about Kuan Yin, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, known as “the one who hears the cries of the world.” I recognized something that had already been guiding much of my life and realized that compassion was a cornerstone value I wanted to carry into my professional work.
My path into healing has always been interdisciplinary. I studied traditional Chinese medicine in NYC, transitioned to San Diego, worked for several years as a bodywork practitioner, completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training, and immersed myself in mindfulness and both Western and Eastern philosophy. I eventually earned my master’s degree in counseling depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
My clinical career has taken me through community mental health, schools, integrated healthcare, and clinical leadership. Those experiences—particularly years spent working alongside primary care providers—deepened my understanding of how interconnected our psychological and physical experiences are. Eventually, I founded Depth Psychotherapy San Diego, where I bring these threads together through depth-oriented, somatic, and trauma-informed psychotherapy.
One of the most unexpected chapters of my story began outside the therapy room.
In 2023, while helping clients challenge beliefs about themselves and what they were capable of, I recognized one of my own. I had already begun paddleboarding and exploring the ocean, but despite how drawn I was to it, I genuinely believed I couldn’t swim.
I decided to challenge that belief by enrolling in a scuba diving course. To pass the required swim test, I taught myself to swim at my local gym. Scuba quickly led me to freediving, and the ocean completely changed my relationship with uncertainty and with myself.
Freediving taught me about fear, surrender, trust, presence, and our capacity to move beyond perceived limitations. The ocean also introduced me to profound experiences of awe—to what happens when we encounter something so vast and alive that, for a moment, our usual worries become very small.
Eventually, my professional work and relationship with the ocean began to converge. I now co-facilitate women’s ocean expeditions and retreats in Baja California Sur that bring together adventure, connection, embodiment, and awe in nature, alongside nervous system-informed practices that cultivate presence. More recently, I’ve also begun building community here in Southern California around women, motherhood, and the ocean.
Throughout the different chapters of my life, I’ve followed my heart and what brings me joy, even when I haven’t known where it would lead. The ocean has been one of the most beautiful examples of that.
Helping people not only recognize, but actually embody, that they are capable of more than they think has become an important part of my mission. Compassion remains at the heart of my work, but my understanding of it has expanded: caring for people isn’t only about helping alleviate suffering. I believe it’s also about creating space for joy, connection, awe, and possibility—and encouraging people to discover where following their own hearts might lead them.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. Growing up with financial instability and scarcity, I’ve had to work through a very real sense of imposter syndrome. Even when life looks incredible from the outside, there can still be an internal voice questioning whether I truly belong in the spaces I’ve worked so hard to enter. I’ve learned to meet that part of myself with compassion rather than trying to eliminate it entirely. In some ways, it also gives me a healthy dose of humility with every new venture I pursue.
Another lesson has been learning that being capable doesn’t mean doing everything alone. I’ve had to become more willing to stay open and curious, ask questions, accept help, and recognize when a team is necessary to bring a vision to life.
I’ve also learned to change my relationship with failure. There is always the possibility that something won’t work the first time, but I get to decide what meaning I make of that. What looks like failure can also be an opportunity to learn an incredible amount about how I want to approach something differently the next time. Gratitude has been an important part of helping me maintain that perspective.
I still have moments when I feel overwhelmed. Rather than judging that response, I’ve learned to understand it as my body communicating that I may need to slow down, process what is happening, and take care of my nervous system—without allowing myself to remain stuck there indefinitely.
The ocean has probably given me the best metaphor for all of this. Conditions are always changing. I’ve learned that we can’t control every current we encounter, but we can learn to trust ourselves, practice discernment, recognize when we’re unnecessarily fighting the current, and know when it’s time to move with the flow.
As you know, we’re big fans of Depth Psychotherapy San Diego. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Depth Psychotherapy San Diego grew out of my desire to create a practice that reflects how I genuinely understand people and healing: we are complex human beings, and our psychological lives cannot be separated neatly from our bodies, relationships, histories, cultures, and the environments we move through.
My psychotherapy practice serves adults virtually throughout California and is rooted in depth-oriented, somatic, and trauma-informed care. I integrate approaches such as EMDR, mindfulness, nervous system education, and body awareness with depth psychology, which allows us to work not only with symptoms, but also with the deeper patterns, experiences, beliefs, and parts of ourselves that shape how we live.
What I think sets my approach apart is that I don’t believe therapy should only be about reducing what is painful. Of course, helping people navigate trauma, anxiety, relationship patterns, life transitions, and emotional distress is an essential part of the work. But I’m equally interested in what allows someone to feel more connected to themselves, more present in their life, and more capable of experiencing meaning, joy, and genuine wonder.
My work has also extended beyond individual psychotherapy into community education. Through Vietnamese Mental Health Services of San Diego, I had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop for Vietnamese American youth exploring intergenerational trauma and how experiences can reverberate across families and generations. This work feels especially meaningful to me given my own background and my interest in the ways our histories and cultures shape our psychological lives.
That same broader philosophy has inspired other offerings beyond the traditional therapy room. I co-facilitate small women’s ocean expeditions and retreats in Baja California Sur that combine wildlife encounters and adventure with guided practices that support embodiment and nervous system regulation. These experiences are intentionally distinct from psychotherapy; they are experiential wellness offerings centered around awe, connection, and our relationship with the natural world.
Locally, I am developing women’s circles that bring together mindfulness, nervous system-informed practices, and time in nature. More recently, I’ve also begun building a free Southern California community for moms who love the ocean, with opportunities for families to connect as well. My hope is to create more opportunities for women to find one another through snorkeling, freediving, and other ocean adventures while fostering confidence and ocean stewardship.
What I’m most proud of is how the brand has naturally evolved over time. I didn’t set out with a business plan that said psychotherapy would someday intersect with cultural and community education, freediving, wildlife encounters, motherhood, and community. Each new offering has grown organically from my own lived experiences and the visions that have emerged through them.
Ultimately, I want people to know that Depth Psych SD is not only about deeply witnessing what hurts, but also about becoming more fully present for the life that is here—our relationships, our bodies, our communities, the natural world, and the experiences that remind us of what is possible.
What does success mean to you?
I define success less by what we accomplish and more by the adaptability and resilience our nervous systems develop along the way. Each time we face a challenge or fear, move through uncertainty, and discover that we can meet what comes, we expand our capacity—almost like strengthening a muscle. Over time, we become more flexible and able to hold space for the projects, passions, relationships, and dreams that are written on our hearts.
I also define success by our ability to be fully present for the life we already have.
One of the most meaningful things I’ve witnessed through my work as a therapist is what can happen when someone is no longer living primarily through the lens of their past. The present becomes more vivid. We have greater access to joy, childlike wonder, and gratitude for the smallest details of being alive.
To me, that is success: being able to meet life’s uncertainty while remaining open enough to experience the immense beauty in this moment. It’s not simply about accomplishing more or becoming fearless. It’s about stepping more fully into our lives, pursuing what matters, and meeting the unknown with openness and trust.
Pricing:
- $200/hr – Individual Teletherapy
- Insurances Accepted: Sharp Health Plan, United Healthcare, Aetna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blueshield of MA, Optum. Please see full list of insurances at depthpsychsd.com.
- If I am out of network, I am happy to provide a superbill for reimbursement.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.depthpsychsd.com/ and https://www.vietmentalhealthsd.com/professionals/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trangphanlmft/ and https://www.instagram.com/depth_psychotherapy_sd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3514012608805550/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trang-p-82b51526
- Psychologytoday: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/trang-phan-san-diego-ca/1118025
- Other: https://www.beyondtheblueexpeditions.com/baja-womens-megafauna-expedition-retreat-mexico-july-2027
