Stanly Tran, LCSW

Therapy for over-thinkers tired of fighting their mind

Logical solutions cannot always solve psychological problems

When life is simpler, it’s easier to be the person we truly want to be… But as our pain and problems begin to overwhelm us, our mind’s “over-protective, over-analytical, problem-solving” nature logically sorry, “instinctually” drives us to avoid and eliminate painful thoughts and feelings, urging us to do whatever it takes to “feel better” or “not feel bad.” While this isn’t always bad, over time, it often stops meaningfully working. Over time, the way we deal with our emotional challenges starts to pull us away from our personal values and goals. Over time, no amount of self-care, positivity, or screen time seems to actually help. Rather than living a life, we are stuck surviving.

Hello, I’m Stanly 👋🏼

I’m most passionate about helping thoughtful, caring, hard-working people who are worn out by their own minds.

Like many of us, I was taught that certain thoughts or feelings are bad, that our worth depends on achievement, and that struggling is something to hide and mask. While this may have helped me achieve or accomplish things on the surface, they also gradually distorted my sense of self and reality, developing into excessive mental habits of catastrophic worrying and self-criticism and doubt. I wasted years arguing with my mind about what was “true/good/enough/safe”. Turns out the appearance of happiness or success ≠ true, authentic inner peace and satisfaction.

The problem usually isn’t a lack of effort nor is it that your mind is broken. Your mind learned to protect you in ways that once made sense but are both no longer necessary nor helpful. Together, we’ll understand why and work toward building a more functional and harmonious relationship with your mind.

  • Bachelor of Science in Human Services (California State University, Fullerton, 2012)

    Master of Social Work, Concentration in Mental Health (University of Southern California, 2014)

    I have more than a decade of clinical, managerial, and supervisory experience in a variety of adult mental health settings:

    • I began in community mental health, supporting people with serious mental illness, often made harder by substance use and limited access to resources and support. It was there I learned how serious mental illness profoundly weighs on families and friends, not just the person living with it.

    • I then worked in intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs, providing structured, intensive treatment for adults who needed more than weekly therapy, and regularly covered inpatient and outpatient substance use and detox units. That work taught me to see the humanity in people at their lowest points, and how much capacity for change remains even in the darkest moments.

    • Most recently, I spent several years as a therapist integrated into primary care, working alongside physicians to address mental health where people already go for care. Many patients never would have sought out therapy on their own, and seeing how much easy access helped them get support they might otherwise never have received reshaped how I think about mental health care.

    • In 2022, I launched this website and my online private practice (during the COVID-19 pandemic). While I generally prefer to see people in person, an online practice allows me to reach people all over California. Currently, this is all I do! It is my passion project.

    • I am expecting to finish my Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in 2027. My project explores the mechanisms of change in repetitive negative thinking (RNT).

I only work with individual adults currently residing in the state of California.

Accepted Insurances (via Octave Behavioral Health):

  • Aetna

  • Anthem Blue Cross of California

  • Blue Shield of California

  • Cigna/Evernorth

  • Healthnet/MHN

What people often come into work on:

Constantly caught up in head…
Worry and overthinking · a harsh inner critic, perfectionism, and shame · feeling down, stuck, or lost · frustration and irritability

Running on empty…
Burnout in caregiving, healthcare, education, law, and other helping roles · toxic workplaces · sleep thrown off by stress and a busy mind

Coping that backfires
Substances, screens, games, procrastination, really any habituated avoidance that produces short-term relief at the cost of long-term workability

Life changes
New parenthood (moms and dads, including postpartum anxiety and depression) · transitioning into early adulthood · career changes and retirement · relationship conflict or strain · divorce and separation · grief and loss

Who I often work with
Men · Asian Americans and children of immigrants · LGBTQ+ people, including trans and queer clients