We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trina Chan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trina below.
Trina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
Aside from my parents’ continuous support, I would say my middle school drama teacher did one of the kindest things for me- he believed in me before I believed in myself.
His generous praise and constant encouragement of my work made me feel capable and valued, which had a powerful impact during my formative years. It enabled me to express myself more freely and authentically, to let my imagination run wild, and to develop greater confidence and courage.
Having this supportive mentor certainly had a huge influence on my development and self-esteem. Perhaps because I experienced the support and kindness from significant people in my life, I always felt a strong desire to impact others in a meaningful way. It’s amazing how powerful the ripple effect can be. Through working as a psychotherapist, I’ve also witnessed how when clients make meaningful changes in their lives and start taking care of themselves, it begins to positively affect all of their relationships, and even their communities. To have someone cheer you on and really believe in you when at times you’re struggling to believe in yourself, can be life-changing. I hope to continue being a nurturing presence for my clients on their healing journey.
Trina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My background is in the arts, education and psychology. To me, the arts and psychotherapy have similarities in that they both involve empathy, understanding human behavior, delving into our emotions and complex inner worlds, sharing our truths, and human connection.
I received my BA and MA in English, Drama and Education at the University of Cambridge, UK, and my MA in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, CA. Since then, I’ve also received additional training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in LA.
I currently work at a private practice in Beverly Hills and have been practicing for almost 10 years now. As a licensed psychotherapist, I work mainly with teens and adults dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma/PTSD and relationship issues. I see therapy as a collaborative process, where we may work together to better understand one’s thoughts, feelings, relationship patterns and unconscious patterns, process past experiences, and even delve into analyzing dreams, as they can be hugely effective and powerful in accessing our subconscious minds. By developing greater self-awareness and insight, we can experience powerful transformations and long-term change.
Both the arts and psychotherapy can be immensely powerful for healing and in provoking thought and change. Recently, I’ve also been using creative ways to raise awareness about mental health issues. Last year, I produced the LA premiere of Lucy Prebble’s play, “The Effect”, which ran throughout Mental Health Awareness Month. The play explores love, neuroscience, and depression, and we partnered with non-profit mental health organizations to raise funds and engage in important Q&A discussions related to mental health. Telling this story felt timely, in that it was soon after community spaces started to reopen after the pandemic. Having a space to laugh, cry and engage in meaningful discussions together, especially at that time when there was an increase in feelings of isolation, depression and a collective sense of powerlessness, was impactful.
I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to guide individuals towards making positive shifts and experiencing life in a more satisfying way, and to continue to use creative ways to raise awareness about mental health. By having more open discussions about mental health within our communities, we can reduce the stigma and enable people to feel less alone and more comfortable reaching out for support.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson that I had to unlearn, was that busyness does not always lead to more success and productivity, and that rest is important and necessary. Even from a young age, I noticed that I would put a lot of pressure on myself to be productive all the time, but this pattern, together with perfectionistic tendencies, led me to develop chronic tension headaches and other symptoms in my late teens.
Since being in the mental health field and on my own healing journey, I’ve learned the importance of having greater self-compassion, and knowing when to give the mind and body some rest. I’ve been starting my mornings with a short meditation and some stretches, which I’ve noticed has significantly improved my energy levels, focus, mental clarity, mood, and relationships. In our society where busyness is often glorified, it’s so important to remember to take care of ourselves and nourish both our minds and bodies, for better health, wellbeing, energy and presence. Sometimes doing less is more!
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Working on ourselves, developing greater self-awareness, and processing our own wounds and past experiences is important. Being able to recognize whenever we’re being triggered or are having certain biases, and processing any countertransference we may experience with clients, can enable us to avoid having our own issues affect the therapeutic relationship. As Aristotle said, “knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.talktotrina.com
- Instagram: @talktotrina
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/trina-chan-a4176357
Image Credits
Ian Fisher (last photo) Olivia Wong (photo of Q+A)