registered psychotherapist

I arrived in Aotearoa, New Zealand, as a child refugee from Vietnam on Waitangi Day, 1980. It is with deep gratitude that I lean into the immense beauty of this land and call it home. Being a Tau iwi—a newcomer—is a reminder that I carry within me many threads of cultural richness, such as Vietnamese, Chinese, and Ni-Vanuatu, that are woven into the tapestry of who I am. This tapestry expresses itself in diverse and holistic ways of being in the world, with myriad potentialities.

This holistic way of being within the world led me to be trained as a Psychosynthesis psychotherapist and ordained as a Buddhist, culminating in qualifying as a Realization Process teacher. In my personal and professional life, I am committed to creating a safe space where beings can encounter themselves more fully and realize their capacity for presence and creativity, so they discover the home within themselves where they truly belong.

Having lost and found home in a different land, I have a deep understanding of, and compassion for, those who carry stories of exile, trauma, and the search for meaning and belonging within cultures different from their own.

My creative and scholarly work explores the body as home, and embodiment as the journey of coming home to oneself. Through writing, visual art, documentary making, conference presentations, and publications, I explore themes of exile, belonging, trauma, consciousness, and psychospiritual transformation. My life and work support the co-creation of matrices of interconnection which arise within our inner groundedness, allowing what is true and beautiful to emerge.

My most recent published article, "Shut Up, Or We'll Throw You Overboard: The Search for Belonging and the Terror of Coming Home to Self," appeared in the Psychoanalytic Perspectives Journal in 2025. My current work develops the concept of the Brokenwhole—a compassionate understanding of healing that embraces both our woundedness and our wholeness.

At the heart of Brokenwhole is a lifelong inquiry into how we become whole without denying what has become broken. A state where beauty and suffering meet, where what has been broken cannot simply be discarded and forgotten. It is about gradually claiming our whole life without abandoning the parts of ourselves that have grown wise and self-loving, because through pain, fragmentation and exile, we continue to find our way home

“Amaradipa/Minh is a compassionate, skillful Realization Process teacher and psychotherapist.  Her powerful life experience and dedicated spiritual practice contribute to her presence as a caring, trustworthy, deeply embodied guide and companion for your healing journey.  I highly recommend her.”

—Judith Blackstone, PhD. Founder of The Realization Process.