Nghi Phan-Heindl
Psychological Counsellor & Integrative Counsellor
I offer online counseling in English for expats and others navigating inner or relationship stress. With IFS parts work & somatic methods, we transform pain and old patterns-restoring balance, clarity & space for growth.
I specialise in:
About me
🌿 Welcome
Hello, and a very warm welcome to my page.
I support expats and other individuals navigating cross-cultural issues, relationships, family dynamics, identity and spirituality. I also help those facing major life transitions--processing grief around endings and new beginnings, or finding clarity around life direction and personal growth. I find that the combination of Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic approaches, and a holistic perspective powerfully support deep emotional healing, a calmer nervous system, and greater self-trust. I offer a gentle, collaborative approach and take care to attune to your unique pace and needs throughout our work together.
🌿 My Background
I'm originally from the United States where I worked as a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker. I have been practicing in New York State for the past 8 years. I now live in the Nürnberg area of Germany with my husband, where I opened my counseling practice in the summer of 2025.
As a first-generation Asian American and the daughter of Vietnamese refugees, I understand both the impact of parental and systemic stress on children, and the experience of feeling different in your environment. Having grown up in upstate New York and later living in various cities across the U.S. and abroad, I bring a deep appreciation for cultural nuance. I’m familiar—both personally and professionally—with the cross-cultural challenges that often arise in families, relationships, workplaces, and new environments, and am mindful to approach these dynamics with sensitivity and care.
🌿 How I Work:
My work centers on healing our relationship with ourselves and, by extension, with others—the principle of “as within, so without.”
Often, we carry emotional wounding or trauma that quietly shapes how we think, feel, and relate. These unprocessed memories live in the body and nervous system, and we may find ourselves caught in the same conflicts or thought patterns again and again. This internal weight can make life feel harder than it should be, affecting our relationships, family life, work, and sense of purpose.
Some of these emotional imprints may even extend beyond our personal story—arising from family lineage, intergenerational pain, or the collective suffering of our culture or society. Because it is all deeply interconnected, true healing often requires a lens broad enough to include all these layers.
Through gentle, embodied processes like IFS and Brainspotting, we work together to help the parts of you carrying pain or limiting beliefs find release and relief. As these burdens lift, you reconnect to what I call your “True North”—your inner compass of wisdom and authenticity. From that place, clarity, creativity, and self-compassion naturally unfold. You begin to feel lighter, more at home within yourself, and better able to meet life’s challenges with openness and grace.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
🌿 My Approach
Many of my clients come to therapy feeling weighed down by long-held patterns or inner conflicts that are hard to name but deeply felt. You might relate to:
-Worry, anxiety or overthinking about changes or the future -Relationship, dating, or attachment-related issues -Culture clashes, feeling lonely, misunderstood, or like an outsider -Social anxiety, low confidence, self-doubt, fear of rejection, performing orplaying small -Feeling down, hopeless or dissatisfied about where you are in life -Trouble adjusting to a major life change eg. relocating to a new country or starting/ending a job or relationship -Conflict between family/social expectations & personal autonomy -Self-criticism, guilt, shame, or self-sabotaging patterns -Codependency, people-pleasing, or chronic caretaking -Stress due to racism, sexism, homophobia, or other discrimination -Being made to feel that you are “too sensitive”
I help clients untangle these complex layers—so they can get clearer and closer to who they authentically are and the life that truly fits them.
🌿 Trauma-Informed
I’m passionate about trauma healing and recovery, and I approach it through the lens of mind-body-spirit. My work uses experiential therapies that address issues at their root—helping to release what’s stuck in the body's nervous system, not just the mind.
I am trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) through IFS Institute, and in Brainspotting and Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) with their respective founders and senior trainers. These modalities help discharge trauma, rewire the system and restore connection to the Self.
IFS—a gentle, non-pathologizing form of “parts work”—helps you connect with the wounded, protective, and survival-based parts within you from deep compassion. It also provides a way to release legacy or ancestral burdens. Each of these approaches offers a path to healing and self-integration.
🌿 Holistic & Transpersonal
Healing extends beyond the emotional and psychological—it can touch the spiritual and existential layers of who we are. My approach often integrates transpersonal and depth-oriented perspectives, drawing from Jungian psychology, Family Constellations, and other holistic healing traditions.
Over the past 15 years, I’ve studied a variety of spiritual and embodied practices, including meditation, reiki, ancestral work, and yogic and shamanic traditions. Many clients come to me seeking to make sense of spiritual or religious trauma, or to integrate mystical, psychedelic, or other non-ordinary experiences. Others simply want to deepen their connection with meaning, purpose, and authenticity.
🌿 Cultural & Systemic Awareness
Our identities and family histories shape how we relate to ourselves and others. Healing often involves not only witnessing your personal story but also understanding the family, cultural, and systemic stories that live within it.
Born into a family impacted by war, displacement, and immigration, I have firsthand experience with the complexities of assimilation, intergenerational trauma and bicultural identity. Through this, international experiences, and being part of an intercultural marriage, I understand the challenges—and gifts—of navigating East–West paradigms, collectivist vs. individualist values, and “ask” vs. “guess” cultural norms.
I help clients identify which norms they've inherited or internalized, to see what truly benefits them and what they prefer to release—creating space for greater coherence and authenticity in their lives.
🌿 Identity-Affirming
I value diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality—the intersecting dimensions of who you are, where you come from, and how you identify. My practice is affirming and inclusive of clients with multicultural or immigrant backgrounds, BIPOC identities, and those who belong to marginalized or underrepresented groups.
I’m also an ally to LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities, and strive to offer a space where every part of you is seen, respected, and welcomed.
🌿 Philosophy
My approach draws from multiple perspectives but is guided by one intention: to support your healing and growth in a compassionate, non-shaming, context-aware, and empowering way. I believe you already carry the wisdom and capacity to heal within you, and my role is to help you access that guidance and navigate what stands in your way. While I may serve as a facilitator or guide, I see our work as a collaboration between equals, grounded in respect for your agency and sovereignty. Clients often describe me as gentle and empathetic, yet able to offer honest reflection and challenge when it supports growth.
If my approach resonates with you, I invite you to schedule a free 20-minute consultation to see if we might be a good fit.
Experience
I have experience working in psychotherapy private practice, community mental health, and outpatient counseling, as well as with BIPOC clients, immigrant/1st gen. families, at-risk children, and domestic violence & sexual violence survivors. I have led groups on trauma recovery, women's empowerment and other topics. I’ve also conducted research on topics including: historical trauma & decolonizing therapy, spiritual competency in therapy, LGBTQ+ family acceptance/rejection, and gender & social injustice.
Clinical Experience: -Private Practice, Psychotherapy - New York, US -Family & Children's Services of Ithaca Mental Health Clinic -Elmcrest Children's Center -Samaritan Counseling Center (Intern)
Prior Work Experience: -Binghamton University (Graduate Instructor - Counseling Center) -Binghamton University (Graduate Researcher - LGBTQ+ issues) -Tea Roots Magazine (Arts Curator) -CG Jung Foundation of New York (Intern) -Safe Horizon Community Program (Senior Case Manager)
Education
Degrees:
-Master of Social Work (LMSW, LCSW) - Binghamton University -Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology - Ithaca College Minors in Philosophy, Writing, Fine Arts
Training/ Continuing Education:
-Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Externship - ICEEFT
-Beyond IFS Consultation Group - Bob Falconer
-Certified Brainspotting Therapist: Levels 1 & 2, Wavespotting Technique, and Consultation
-Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Therapist: Levels 1 & 2 - DBR Trainings
-Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist: Level 1 - IFS Institute
-The Integrated Trauma Therapist: Incorporating IFS with EMDR, SP, CPT, AEDP, DBT, and Psychedelic Medicines for Treating Complex Trauma and PTSD - Frank Anderson, Bessel van der Kolk, Richard Schwartz
-New Dimensions of Trauma Healing: Energy, Neuroscience & Spirituality - Frank Anderson
-Family Constellations Therapy Masterclass - Bertold Ulsamer
-Family Constellations Facilitation Certificate - Convivium Constellations
-AEDP Introductory Course - Kate Halliday
-IFS Introductory Training - Derek Scott
-Sound, Voice & Music in the Healing Arts Certificate - CIIS
-Reiki Level I & II - A.R.E. of New York Edgar Cayce Center
Services
Intro Call
Individual Session
Individual Session
Insurances
