"we cannot escape hardship, but we can change how we live."
Nicole dao
ADVANCED CLINICAL FELLOW
all about nicole
Nicole brings a thoughtful, grounded presence that helps clients feel safe, understood, and met where they are. She approaches her work with curiosity and patience, creating space to explore thoughts and emotions without pressure to have immediate answers. Nicole is intentional about normalizing that vulnerability can feel unfamiliar and transitions can be overwhelming. Her strength lies in her ability to stay present with complexity and help clients feel less alone.
Nicole views therapy as a humanistic, collaborative space where she works alongside clients to make sense of experiences that can feel confusing or overwhelming. She believes that clarity develops through curiosity and reflection, and that people are most able to grow when they feel actively engaged in their own process. Her style is gentle and exploratory, supporting clients in identifying connections between past and present, thoughts and behaviors, and patterns and goals. Clients would describe Nicole as insightful and honest; she encourages people to gently confront themselves while supporting them throughout the process.
Nicole’s perspective is shaped by her identity and lived experiences navigating perfectionism, cultural expectations, academic pressure, and life transitions as a first-generation Vietnamese American student who moved from Texas to New York. She can connect with clients facing similar challenges with empathy and nuance. Her clinical interests have been shaped through her support of children, adolescents, adults, and families across various behavioral health, crisis intervention, and community mental health settings. She believes that people already possess the capacity for growth and strives to support clients in building lives that feel authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling.
how she works
Nicole takes an integrative, client-centered approach to therapy that honors the complexity of each person’s experiences while creating space for vulnerability, reflection, and growth. She validates hardship while also helping clients recognize their strengths. Her work begins with building a strong foundation of understanding the client in order to clarify their unique values and goals.
Nicole draws primarily from psychodynamic, CBT, humanistic, relational, and interpersonal approaches. She maintains a multicultural lens that considers the context of identity, culture, and lived experience. She is interested in working with women, young adults, college students, and BIPOC individuals navigating anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, identity development, life transitions, body image concerns, and eating disorders. Her approach is both reflective and structured, balancing insight-oriented exploration with practical tools that support clients in applying lessons learned into everyday life. Clients may leave sessions with Nicole feeling heard, emotionally lighter, and with something meaningful to reflect on.
Get to know me
Wired earbuds - practical, simple to use, and you don't need to charge them!
One thing you couldn't live without
Watching Nathan for You (funniest show ever)
Something that always makes you smile
🫶
Most used emoji
Under the sheets in a warm bed
Where is your happy place?
Teleportation - for exploring different cultures and traveling
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
Quick stretch and skincare
Morning routine
Go for a walk, experience nature, watch a comforting show, and journal
What do you do to de-stress?
Written to-do lists and an organized calendar
How do you set yourself up for a successful week?
Vietnam and Japan!
Favorite place you have traveled
NYT games every day, reading on the train, nightly journaling, using my gua sha, and drinking lots of water
Rituals
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Humanistic, Interpersonal, Psychodynamic, Relational
THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES
