Many therapists I have met come from a place where they have experienced firsthand the pain that miscommunication and the lack of connection can cause, and I am not an exception to that.
My parents, after having fled injustice and war in their home country of Vietnam, found themselves challenged by the difficulties of integrating into a new culture in the Netherlands. The coexistence of both their unfaltering love, and the generational pain they carried with them and over to their children, seemed dissonant to me at a young age – while as I grew up I understood that these are not mutually exclusive. They perhaps even come hand in hand.
Wherever I look I continue to find these patterns; of good people who do their best, who want to love and connect, but somehow aren’t always able to. Misunderstandings arise, emotional walls are built and disconnection becomes a truth. As a ripple this spreads from individuals to families, from communities to nations, and from one generation to the next, creating pain and separation in a world in which I believe we are all one. I believe that with the healing of each individual, each relationship, we simultaneously heal the collective.
How do we replace destructive patterns with ones that will empower us, and generations to come? How does love work; what is the science behind it, and even more so: how do we practically create change?
It is my life’s goal to help myself, my family, and other human beings heal deeply, so we can express ourselves in the way that brings the most love and joy.
I explicitly stand for inclusion and strive to be respectful towards all human beings, honoring the richness of various cultural and racial backgrounds, philosophical views and religious beliefs, gender-identifications, sexual expressions (including kink), and the many different ways in which we can choose to give shape to our love, including monogamy and non-monogamy.
The desire to help reconnect our world has brought me from the empirically validated methods of Emotionally Focused Therapy, to facilitating mindfulness programs of zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, to the breath- and bodywork of tantra that helps people embrace all that is within us in the current moment. And I’ll continue looking for methods that help people reconnect. To ourselves, and to the world and the people around us.
I hope to meet you soon.
Qualifications:
Anlacan Tran is a member of the Dutch Association of Psychologists (Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen, NIP); NIP-number 234486
Anlacan Tran is a member of ICEEFT (International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy)
Writes for Stichting EFT Nederland
Writes about ethical relating on www.ethically-open.com
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (basic + advanced training): achieved with Sue Johnson, Leanne Campbell and Yolanda von Hockauf
Emotionally Focused Therapy (basic + advanced training): achieved with Rebecca Jorgensen and Scott Woolley
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (basic + advanced training): achieved with Gail Palmer and Jim Furrow
Mindfulness facilitator in Village des Pruneaux, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
VU University Amsterdam: Master of Science, Social Psychology
VU University Amsterdam: Bachelor of Science, Psychology
