Hoàng Lo, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Narrative Therapy | Mindfulness

Hoàng’s Philosophy

Body and mind are not separate from each other, thus cultivating good health both physically and mentally are crucial for our overall well-being.

Dominant discourses are oppressive, and they affect people’s behavior by telling them how they should act, what happiness/success looks like, and different goods and shoulds than those belonging to local discourses. We all need help at times in figuring out ways to effectively manage problems caused by dominant discourses which are imposed upon us rather than something we impose on ourselves.

We are all in need of understanding and authentic connections. We benefit from being in communities where people are aware of dominant discourses at play and are committed to supporting each other.

What Makes Hoàng Different

I was born and raised in Vietnam into a family of eight children. I hold deep gratitude and admiration for my parents who dedicated their lives to provide and care for my seven siblings and me. I’ve known since I was little that I enjoyed connecting people, building meaningful relationships, and cultivating peace.

I’m grateful for the mentors in my life who are dedicated not only to sharing intellectual knowledge and providing guidance but also to ‘walking the talk’. I’m inspired by communities of people who are passionate about ethical living and relating, social justice, as well as bringing about social change.

I enjoy the process of learning and contributing to social change. As I aim to raise awareness about social issues without imposing my views, I don’t claim to know the answers. I’m honored to support others in finding ways to have more manageable and preferable relationships with problems encountered.

Hoàng’s Practice

I choose to work from the Narrative theoretical orientation because it offers a unique understanding to problems as created by dominant discourses. These dominant discourses include ideas and dialogs in society or media that inform how people should live and how life should be. Narrative therapy believes that people experience problems in their personal lives when dominant discourses and expectation are creating conflicts with local discourses which happen in our heads and in our significant relationships. My work is to assist clients in making informed decisions about if and how they want to live by or to modify these discourses to better align with their own lived experiences and preferences.

I use Narrative interventions such as externalizing, mapping the effects, thickening of descriptions, and deconstructing in my work to highlight clients’ agency and resources.