About | Van Vu, RSW, Psychotherapist

Welcome — I'm so glad you're here.

I remember a client early in my career who spent our first few sessions apologizing — for crying, for "taking up my time," for not having things "figured out yet." It took weeks before I realized the apology itself was the story: a lifetime of believing their needs were an inconvenience. The day they stopped apologizing wasn't dramatic. It was quiet. But it was everything. That kind of shift is what I've spent nearly two decades learning how to help create.

After graduating from McMaster University in 1994 with an Honours BA in Psychology, I began my career as a Probation Officer, working in both community and custodial settings. Over ten years of service, I found myself continually drawn to people's life journeys and the challenges they carried, but I felt ill-equipped to support them in the way I wanted to. That work also taught me something that has stayed with me ever since: no one's story can be reduced to a single behaviour or diagnosis. One day, I realized I didn't want to keep referring people out to counselling — I wanted to learn how to facilitate that healing myself.

So I went back to school as a mature student, juggling two babies alongside my studies, to complete my Master of Social Work (MSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University.

From there, my clinical path led me into addiction and trauma counselling, and eventually into forensic assessment and treatment. Those years taught me, more than anything, what genuine healing actually requires — and that lesson still shapes every session I sit in today.

My practicum placement during graduate school also gave me the opportunity to train as a family therapist, and my interest in working with couples naturally evolved out of that family work. To this day, I tend to think systemically and relationally, taking a holistic approach to understanding the issues people bring into the room. Having a deeply rooted understanding of how culture shapes these family dynamics, I am also glad to offer a culturally responsive space—including sessions in Vietnamese—for adult individuals navigating complex bicultural identities or generational patterns.

Teaching has also remained close to my heart — I've been a McMaster University Continuing Education instructor for the Professional Addiction Program since 2010, and have taught in the MSW program at the University of Windsor, the BSW program at McMaster University, and at Sheridan College.

In session, I aim to be warm, well-paced, and genuinely present — meeting you where you are, at a pace that feels right for you. My approach is flexible and collaborative, grounded in evidence-based methods, and I often bring in practical, hands-on techniques alongside traditional talk therapy to help things really land, not just make sense intellectually.

Looking back, it's a path that surprises even me sometimes — from the justice system, to trauma and addiction treatment, to family and couples work, to teaching future therapists. All of it continues to shape how I show up in the therapy room today.