Dr. Nguyen Nguyen (He/Him) is an Assistant Professor in the APA-accredited Counseling Psychology program at Texas A&M University. He is also a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Texas and maintains a small private practice. He has a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Texas Tech University and completed his doctoral internship at the University of California, Berkeley, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Dr. Nguyen’s research centers on advancing health equity among racially and ethnically marginalized communities, with a particular focus on chronic pain and integrated health care. His work examines the intersection of social, emotional, and physical pain, illustrating how interpersonal, cultural, and structural forces shape pain experiences, communication, and access to effective care. He is especially interested in identifying psychosocial and contextual factors that both facilitate resilience and perpetuate disparities in pain assessment, treatment, and outcomes. More recently, Dr. Nguyen’s scholarship has expanded to explore the emerging role of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in chronic pain experiences, health beliefs, care-seeking behaviors, and self-management. Through mixed-methods and community-informed approaches, his work bridges health psychology, pain research, and technology in service of health equity. He has presented his research at many national conferences (e.g., American Psychological Association; American Academy of Pain Medicine) and has received multiple grants, funding, and accolades for his work.

In his clinical practice, Dr. Nguyen was trained as a generalist, utilizing a psychodynamic framework in both brief (one-at-a-time model) and long-term modalities. Dr. Nguyen’s therapeutic stance blends warmth, directness, empowerment, and humor. He sees the therapy room not just as a space for safety, but also for brave exploration, where clients are invited to meet themselves with compassion, curiosity, and radical ownership. He is deeply committed to honoring cultural complexity, addressing the effects of systemic injustice, and helping clients reclaim their voice, agency, and sense of meaning, even in the face of pain.

Apart from his research and clinical work, teaching and mentoring are Dr. Nguyen's lifelong passions. Previously, he served as an instructor at Texas Tech University for 4 years. He was also a fellow, later becoming a consultant, of the TEACH program, a competitive fellowship designed to enhance pedagogical skills for educators from Texas Tech University. In his current role at Texas A&M University, Dr. Nguyen has taught a range of doctoral courses (e.g., Psychopathology, Career Counseling, Group Therapy), provided clinical supervision, and offered individualized mentorship to research assistants in HEAL.

His training philosophy prioritizes collaboration over competition and encourages students to take initiative, think conceptually, and engage in honest self-reflection. He is committed to developing not just skilled technicians, but deep thinkers: scholars who can wrestle with complexity, hold nuance, and lead with clarity and purpose. With an emphasis on authenticity over perfection, he models and invites vulnerability, courage, and intellectual risk-taking in the service of growth. Above all, he believes that meaningful learning happens not in isolation, but in good company!

Born and raised in Vietnam, the Vietnamese culture is at the center of his values and identity. Coming from a country with a rich history of defying colonization, Dr. Nguyen believes in active defiance of oppressive systems, both within and outside academic settings, through civil discourse, advocacy, and, at times, civil disobedience. 

Being a Vietnamese immigrant, cooking Vietnamese food makes him feel at home. He loves cooking and sharing his food with friends and family, as sharing food is a profound expression of love in Vietnamese culture. He is also an enthusiastic wine taster, though his palate has very clear loyalties: Napa has his heart, while French wine continues to make a less convincing case. Additionally, Dr. Nguyen is an avid horror movie enthusiast, and he loves seeing any horror movie the minute it is released. In quieter moments, he finds grounding and solace in classical music, especially the works of Rachmaninoff - whose Piano Concerto No. 3 remains his all-time favorite.

Lastly, Dr. Nguyen’s Buddhist practice also deeply informs his work as a psychologist, researcher, and mentor. He regularly engages in meditation and co-facilitates weekly meetings with fellow Vietnamese-American Buddhists, where values such as the Four Noble Truths, loving-kindness, and No-Self are explored and embodied. These teachings shape how he approaches suffering, healing, and the human condition: not only in theory, but in relational, clinical, and research contexts. For Dr. Nguyen, the intersection of Buddhism and psychology is not theoretical, but it is lived, relational, and deeply political.