Michelle Duong

Society demands that women occupy conflicting spaces: to be fiercely independent yet entirely self-sacrificing, visible yet compliant. I focus heavily on deconstructing these impossible double standards, identity masking, and the chronic burnout that follows. I offer a space tailored to examining how colorism, racism, and misogyny uniquely compress the lives of women, particularly women of color. This is a place to drop the performance, quiet the inner critic, and reclaim your autonomy.

I specialize in historical and intergenerational trauma because I believe the heavy burdens we carry rarely start with us. As a queer woman of color and daughter of immigrants, I know how systemic oppression, cultural expectations, and unhealed family wounds silently echo across generations. True healing requires looking beyond individual symptoms to the root of these inherited cycles. I am passionate about helping clients trace these patterns, honor their roots, and break free from old scripts.

Relationships are living systems, and I specialize in couples work because it allows us to look at the space between two people. No partner arrives empty-handed; we enter commitments carrying our unhealed wounds, cultural blueprints, and childhood defenses. My goal in the room is to act as an objective translator. I help couples map out their repetitive cycles, step out of the courtroom dynamic of who is right or wrong, and co-create an entirely new language rooted in safety and adult intimacy.

I have built specialized expertise in trauma through years of targeted clinical practice and intensive training in evidence-based modalities. My background spans treating severe, complex trauma in fast-paced community mental health and outpatient settings. I am trained in advanced trauma-recovery approaches, including EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS). This allows me to effectively treat PTSD, racial trauma, and the somatic ways your nervous system holds onto painful past experiences.

I hold expertise in couples counseling rooted in a deep understanding of relational systems, attachment theory, and systemic dynamics. My clinical experience includes helping couples navigate high-conflict cycles, complex intimacy issues, and intersecting cultural identities. By integrating evidence-based systemic frameworks and emotion-focused principles, I am skilled at helping partners map repetitive behavioral loops, deconstruct defensive walls, and cultivate long-term, secure attachment.

I hold extensive expertise in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), having integrated its core pillars—mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness—across diverse clinical settings. I specialize in teaching practical coping skills to manage intense emotional storms, chronic burnout, and reactive behavioral loops. To further solidify my clinical rigor, I am currently working on becoming a Certified Dialectical Behavior Therapy Professional (C-DBT).