My name is Yen Nguyen and I identify as first generation, queer Vietnamese American and Army Veteran dedicated to mental health advocacy in BIPOC and queer communities. I have been a therapist in Colorado for over 5 years and work to help folks move towards a deeper relationship with themselves.In my work, I support folks in developing a loving relationship with pieces of themselves lost or damaged through experiences of racism and historical traumas that still live in our bodies. We are all survivors of colonialism, struggling to reconnect to our strengths that can sometimes be drowned out by the voices of trauma that tell us that we’re less-than and unworthy. I struggle with worthiness as I write these words myself and wondered if I was “good enough” to be highlighted. The ache of this lives in my chest and I recognize that so many others in the AAPI and BIPOC community suffer through this.

"We are all survivors of colonialism, struggling to reconnect to our strengths that can sometimes be drowned out by the voices of trauma that tell us that we’re less-than and unworthy."

The indoctrination of whiteness onto our bodies as the “model minorities” has created fractures in our communities as internalized racism, sexism and classism. I believe that the path to healing is in decentering and dismantling whiteness in our bodies and shifting towards defining ourselves through the lens’ of our ancestors. It is imperative that we heal with each other and reconnect in spite of the narratives that have driven us apart. Healing in strength for me is coming back to the foods that came from my grandmother’s hands, the history on the lines of mother’s smiles, the stories from my aunt’s feet, and the earth’s grace beneath me. Let’s learn and heal together.I stand with Black Lives, No Humans are Illegal and down with White supremacy.

"The indoctrination of whiteness onto our bodies as the 'model minorities' has created fractures in our communities as internalized racism, sexism and classism."

Yen is a graduate of the University of Louisville in Counseling Psychology where they spent time researching Trans/GNC experiences in the VA healthcare system. They are the owner of Spirit Well Counseling, PLLC, where they work as a therapist specializing in several modalities which include; mindfulness based cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive processing therapy, interpersonal therapy and psychodynamic approaches. Yen also spent time throughout their life and career working with LGBTQ+ youth in various communities.