MEET REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGIST, CHRIS TRAN.

Our Asian Australian mental health practitioner list continues to be a highly utilised resource for many Asian Australians seeking therapeutic support, so we're now trying to bring a bit more life to the list through these short interviews.

We know that it's not always easy trying to work out which psychologist we might like to work with. Because the decision is not just about where they're located and when they're available, but there's a bit more of a human, relational element to the decision too.

So here at Shapes and Sounds, we want to help make that process just a little easier.

Every month, we'll be introducing a psychologist from the Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List to help you gain a bit more insight into who you feel might be a good fit for you or someone that you know.

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Shapes and Sounds does not recommend or endorse any of the psychologists on the list, however we're really excited that we're able to provide insight into their personalities so that you can make an informed choice in your mental health care.

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Please continue to share this resource as well as this interview to others who may benefit from further therapeutic support!

Our inaugural interview is with Chris Tran from Enhancing Minds. Chris is based in Sydney however he sees his clients via Telehealth or phone so he is able to work with anyone across Australia.

We're so excited to introduce you to Chris below.

1. What led you to choose psychology as a career?

If I’m being honest, a small part of choosing to become a psychologist was to rebel from what parents and society expected of me. Growing up Asian Australian, my parents pressured me to choose medicine, engineering, law or accounting. Although these fields are important to society, they didn’t suit me. 

The larger draw for me was noticing how people from immigrant families can experience a lot of social anxiety, self-doubt, self-criticism, strength seeking and validation seeking from outside, perfectionism, and internal conflict. When I saw that psychology allows us to care for ourselves and shift our minds for our own benefit, I fell in love with it. I saw the possibility of having more control of our own thoughts and feelings, and how we can live life our way.

2. What are your areas of specialty and what kind of frameworks do you work from?

What’s unique about my way of working is my combination of coaching and psychology. From the psychology side, I draw from my experience with CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Applied Behaviour Analysis, Mindfulness, and my application of Self-Determination Theory and Social Learning Theory. But, I’m a strong believer in trusting in you, the client. You’ve got your own strengths, ideas, interests and values that we can tap into to help you make the change that you want. My job is to guide the sessions when needed, but also to step back and let you steer as much as possible.

My coaching approach also focuses on us putting in work. I’ll encourage you to set a goal and together, we’ll get you the skills and tools that will help you stay on course in the long-term based on the ideas that we both come up with.

3. What kind of clients are you best able to support?

I focus on supporting people who want to be in more control of their own lives and be more self-efficient. This includes if you: 1) want to improve how you feel and think; 2) want more out of life; 3) want to be better equipped with dealing with family, partners, friends, colleagues or new people.

So if you want to enhance your ability to manage emotions or that internal voice that’s critical of you, we can tackle it together. If you want to get motivated, enhance your effectiveness in an area of life or if you just want more balance, we can achieve this together. If you want to be more self-assured rather than seeking other people’s approval or if you want support with dealing with discrimination, we can work on this together.

Bonus question. If you could be your own therapist right now, what do you think you would say to yourself?

 If I was my own therapist, I’d tell myself:

“Acknowledge the effort you put in and the progress that you make.”

“When things get hard, take a step back, take a deep breath, and map out what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.”

“Your opinion has value, just like everyone else’s.”

“Make sure you also look after yourself. It can’t always be about everyone else.”

“Be confident in your choices.”

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Connect with Chris via our Asian Australian Mental Health Practitioner List HERE. Alternatively, if Chris' words make you think of anyone in your life, be sure to forward this page on to them too. Let us continue to not only support ourselves but all those around us too!

Lastly, if you require urgent assistance, please do not contact Chris or any of the psychologists on this list. Instead, please call emergency services on 000 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.