Hi! I’m Dr. Huong Diep, a Board Certified Psychologist, Certified Financial Therapist™, Consultant, Author, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPVC), and just someone who’s always been insatiably curious about people—their stories, their pain, and what helps them heal.

Clients often tell me, “That’s a great question, I’ve never thought about it like that.”

I live for those moments, not because I have the answers, but because the right question can open a door that’s been shut for years. The best therapy often begins with the questions no one has asked you yet.

How I Work:

I don’t view emotional distress as “What’s wrong with you?!”
I see it as a signal, a response to something you’ve been navigating or carrying for too long on your own.

I work from a strengths-based, values-oriented lens. I don’t pathologize. I don’t see you as broken. I believe we all have the inner wisdom and tools to move toward the lives we want, even if we don’t always know how to access them.

Therapy with me blends evidence-based methods (CBT, EMDR, CPT, IFS) with mindfulness, somatic awareness, acceptance work, cultural humility, and a whole lot of curiosity. It’s tailored to your story, not just your symptoms.

Over the years, I noticed a quiet theme running through so many clients’ stories: money, not just budgets or bills, but the emotions, fears, cultural expectations, and identity pressures tied to it.

Becoming a Certified Financial Therapist (CFT) felt like a natural next step. The training builds on my work as a psychologist and adds a deeper understanding of how money, emotion, behavior, culture, and identity all influence each other. The CFT process was simply another way to strengthen the same values behind my ABPP board certification: integrity, accountability, and culturally attuned care.

Where I Come From:

My story begins with my parents, Vietnamese refugees who fled by boat in the 80s. Like many children of immigrants, I grew up in a home where survival shaped everything, from how we worked, to how we loved, to how we thought about money.

Stability wasn’t just a goal; it was a form of safety.
Success wasn’t just achievement; it was protection.
Money wasn’t just numbers; it was security, obligation, and gratitude braided together.

No one said these things out loud, but they were the air I breathed.

As a child, I felt the quiet pressure to “make it,” to choose a stable and honorable path, usually medicine. But I quickly realized I wasn’t meant for hospitals (mostly because: blood). More importantly, I sensed that my calling was elsewhere.

So I carved a different path: nutrition, public health, community development and eventually landed where I always belonged: at the intersection of psychology, identity, culture, and healing. And as I began my clinical work, I saw those same unspoken money messages show up in my clients’ stories, too, whether they were immigrants, first/second generation professionals, high achievers, or helpers holding everything together.

Understanding where I come from helps me understand where you come from, what shaped you, what you carry, and what you might be ready to release.

Education/Training:

My journey took me from earned degrees from UCLA and the University of Denver (speciality in International Disaster Psychology) and completed pre/post-docs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. I’ve lived, worked, and traveled to 50+ countries, and my time in the rural mountains of Peru as a Peace Corps Volunteer deeply shaped my understanding of culture, resilience, and the human spirit.

Who I Work With:

I specialize in working with:

• Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), empaths, and deep thinkers

• Clients unpacking money stories, scarcity patterns, or financial shame

• Neurodivergent individuals (ADHD, ASD, masking, burnout)

• Professionals navigating grief, loss, or identity shifts

• Therapists, doctors, helpers, and healers who need a place to not hold it together

• Clients processing trauma, whether personal, cultural, or intergenerational

• People exploring gender, cultural, or third-culture identity

• Childfree folks, either by choice or circumstance and ambiguous loss

• Federal employees, Foreign Service Officers (FSO), Eligible Family Members (EFM), and globally mobile clients

I particularly love helping clients explore boundaries, not as barriers, but as bridges. Boundaries that come from self-respect, not guilt. Boundaries that allow for connection, not isolation.

A Few Things You Might Want to Know

• I’m a board-certified psychologist, licensed in CA, NV, NY, SD, and Washington DC

• I’ve been on my own therapy journey since 2005; I practice what I preach

• I’m Buddhist-raised, mindfulness-informed, and ACT-aligned (what we resist, persists)

• I love hot yoga, reading, trying new foods, and deep conversations

• I’m not active on social media and I still manage to stay pretty current on memes

• I’m an INFJ, Enneagram 2w3, and yes—an HSP/HSS myself

The best compliment I’ve received from a teen client?

“You’re kinda cool… you don’t talk like a doctor.”

I’ll take it.

Last thing…

I live by this Toni Morrison quote:

“When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

That’s what I try to do every day.

If you're ready to explore, unpack, or simply breathe a little deeper, I’m here.

Please see my LinkedIn if you want to learn more about my research, publications, and professional CV. Basically, I have been in school and training for a long time! But, most importantly, I can translate the world of psychology into every day language that is understandable to my clients.