Hieu was my therapist for about 5 months. During most of that time, she was a wonderful therapist; she was thoughtful, listened to me deeply, and helped me feel seen and heard. But at some point I realized that she couldn't help me any further and that I needed to find a new therapist who specialized in exactly what I'm going through.
I struggled with that decision very much, but told Hieu my thoughts and decided to end therapy. She clearly told me we would continue therapy until I had secured a new therapist. That was not what ended up happening.
Hieu decided on her own that our therapy was over after what ended up being our last session. We had our next session scheduled the following week, but she texted me to tell me she was cancelling it and that she was no longer available for any additional services. She also gave me referrals for other therapists.
I will try to summarize this as briefly as I can. I texted Hieu asking what was going on & why we wouldn't at least be having a final session. Two days went by and she never responded. I called her, left many messages... I texted her again. No answer. I was deeply triggered by her going back on her word & leaving me alone with my pain. I was taken to the depths of my darkest, most painful abandonment wounds. There was nothing I could say to get through to her. I still have no idea why she decided to ignore me, but it's clear to me now that she made this decision for herself, not for me.
After about a week, she sent me a letter that I assumed would be a personal response explaining what had happened. Instead, it was a formal letter that was nearly a copy of the original text she sent me ending our therapy. She added 2 sentences that explained she was not the right therapist for me. She never directly responded to anything I said. She didn't acknowledge the pain she (a trauma therapist) caused, and she didn't apologize. I made it very clear to her how much pain I was in over the way she ended our therapy, but Hieu wouldn't even have a conversation with me to, at the very least, clear things up.
Because of the terrible, confusing way things ended, I would not recommend Hieu as a therapist. read more