Counselling and Coaching for Individuals

EXPERIENCE THE CHANGE YOU DESIRE

I first began my career in teaching psychology to undergraduates at the University of Greenwich and Monash University. I later worked as a counsellor at the Ministry of Education (MOE) for seven years and then at the National University of Singapore (NUS) for three years. While at NUS, I was trained in NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance) to provide trauma mitigation, education, and emotional first-aid to the community in the aftermath of critical incidents.

As an experienced therapist with 15 years experience and a registered member of the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS), I keep updated with international psychodynamic bodies, the latest research, and clinical training. In 2022, I was reading interpersonal psychotherapy at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology.

My diverse experience and training inform my practice of a psychodynamic approach to counselling. My work with clients deepens awareness of their issues by looking at the parts of themselves that they have neglected. A psychodynamic approach is best suited for those who have tried brief therapy or self-help but do not obtain lasting relief. The main focus is to rediscover one’s relationship to a richer and more fulfilling life by rebuilding broken paths.

I offer a safe space for deep empathy, reflection, and self-discovery. I adopt a holistic approach to psychology and am deeply interested in the body and mind’s health and well-being. My research interests are in the integration of Western and Eastern psychologies.

Western psychology has given us the gift of inquiry by asking how our deep-seated emotions have unconsciously influenced our negative and positive patterns, fostering healing through awareness. Examples of Western psychology that influence my work include:

• Interpersonal Psychoanalysis (the works of Edgar Levenson, Stephen Mitchell, Philip Bromberg and Jay Greenberg)
• Jungian Analysis with an emphasis on post-Jungian approaches (the works of James Hollis, James Hillman and Andrew Samuels)
• The practice of healing arts and psychodrama (the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Christopher Hyatt)

Eastern psychology has given us the gift of intuition through body-based practices that enrich our inner lives. Examples of Eastern psychology that influence my work include:

• The Fourth Way (the works of George Gurdjieff)
• Zen-meditative techniques (the works of Shunryu Suzuki and Miyamoto Musahi)
• Ayurvedic philosophy and practice

Cross-overs of Western psychology and Eastern psychology that interest me include dreamwork, active imagination, emotional clearing pioneered by John Ruskan, art in therapy, and clinical hypnosis.

I have studied Ayurvedic Counseling at the Kerala Ayurveda Wellness Center in the United States and am an Emotional Clearing Facilitator, a powerful technique of reprogramming negative patterns of emotions. I am also trained in clinical hypnotherapy with the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy and employ expressive therapy. I practice telehealth, ensuring a similar experience to an in-person session.

My approach is primarily based on compassion and treating each individual as unique. The result is collaborative, with the client as the expert in their life and my role as a guide to gain a greater awareness of their own experience in the waking world and navigate obstacles effectively. The healing in therapy goes beyond symptomatic relief, tackling the deep-seated issues as they emerge to empower clients to find their freedom.

I am an inclusive Mental Health Practitioner and support members of ethnic and sexual minorities, mixed-raced and mixed-faith families and relationships, third-culture kids (TCK), and third-culture individuals (TCI). I also work with clients with a complicated family upbringing and those yearning for a more profound and meaningful life.

I treat the following issues:

• depression
• anxiety
• panic attacks
• trauma
• relationships
• family issues
• sexuality
• gender issues
• men’s issues
• eating disorders
• workplace issues
• existential questions
• spiritual questioning
• creative blocks
• grief
• addiction issues
• difficulty in coping with significant life changes