In a universe full of wonders, my curiosity and interest for human behaviours sparked at an early age. It is without a doubt that my own personal experiences have contributed to my keen interest in learning about psychology to further understand people’s behaviours, and myself included.

Upon the completion of my degree in Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an extended major in Peace and Conflict from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, I returned home and worked as an Instructor at Shichida Method for a year and nine months. This gave me invaluable experience working with children, which also allowed me to learn first-hand about a child’s developmental processes. I furthered my studies in Masters in Counselling in 2013 at HELP University, completing up to 282 supervised practical hours during the course of practicum and 618.5 hours as part of internship requirement. I was attached at multiple sites (Dr Diana Lea-Baranovich’s private clinic, the Children Shelter, All Women’s Aid Society and Asia Pacific Smart) providing counseling services to individuals, couples and families from various background.

After much exploration, I realised that my personal values and philosophical understanding resonates with a more systemic approach in counseling. The theory highlights that people should be viewed from a systemic lens because they are a product of all these external influences that form a person’s worldview. It should also be emphasised that people can never live in isolation because we need some form of emotional connection. On that note, people inevitably operate within a system and these maladaptive behaviours are often seen as a result of certain dysfunctions within the system itself.

Apart from systemic approach, I do heavily utilise expressive arts and narrative techniques to effectively facilitate people in creating higher self-awareness to overcome some of these personal challenges. I believe that people are often stuck because they haven’t uncovered the root of the problem, which is often hiding under these layers of consciousness.

Currently I’m a practising licensed counsellor and a trained family therapist. I’ve had the privilege to conduct workshops, talks and lectures in the past 4 years. I was attached to Hils Learning Sdn Bhd as an education facilitator where I often engaged with high functioning children on the spectrum. It is important that we have close interaction with their families to ensure a more holistic approach in constructing an effective framework to support the children.

In general, I believe that each one of us has a little black box hidden somewhere deep in our hearts. And when it gets overwhelming, we experience a sense of fear, insecurity or even avoidance. And sometimes, we can’t even make sense of our own feelings. In a world where differences aren’t often appreciated, it is expected that we instinctively feel anxious about opening up and exploring what these boxes contain; what more with a complete stranger. However, therapy in my definition, is about two individuals, walking side by side revisiting some of these dark places and journeying together. It would be my greatest honour to walk alongside with you as you continue painting your life canvas.