Counsellor

PCMSAC, MGC, BSc (Psych)

The Lion Mind

Doris is a mental health clinician with The Lion Mind. She has more than 12 years of counselling experience in the social service sector, supporting families and couples going through separation and distress in their relationships. She also extensive experiences working with individuals facing issues such as grief and loss, parenting, stress, and anxiety.

Being a working mother, Doris understands the struggles in managing work-life balance. Having gone through numerous adjustments, she empathises with clients’ challenges in their life stages and transitions. Through counselling, She helps clients to establish positive changes in their lives.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Doris has a Master in Guidance & Counselling from James Cook University (Singapore), and a Bachelor in Science (Psychology) from SIM University. Her other qualifications includes a Post Graduate Certificate in Systemic Thinking and Approaches (Applications in Social Work & Clinical Practice), and a Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical and Casework Supervision from the Counselling and Care Centre, and a Certificate of Specialisation in Family and Couple Counselling from the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Doris adopts an integrative counselling approach tailored to each client’s needs. She is well-versed in family systemic psychotherapy, psychodynamic approaches, and narrative psychotherapy. She also integrates mindfulness practice into her sessions.

Doris believes in building good attunement skills and reflexivity. It helps her establish therapeutic relationships with clients from different walks of life. With appropriate pacing, increased awareness and trust, she explores the unspoken curiously and respectfully with her clients.

Professional Membership

Doris is a Provisional Clinical Member with Singapore Association for Counselling.

Other Experiences

Doris brings a wealth of experience to the table, having successfully led support groups catering to a wide range of clients. Her proficiency spans various subjects, including the crucial areas of self-care and parenting. In these sessions, Doris fosters an environment that encourages open discussion and mutual support, ensuring participants receive valuable insights and guidance tailored to their individual needs.

Counsellor

AssocMAPACS, MCoun, MLitt (Managing in the Creative Industries) (Dist), GradDip Counselling, BA (Psych) (Summa Cum Laude),
Dip Art Therapy

The Lion Mind

Vanessa is a mental health clinician with The Lion Mind. She has more than two years of experience providing counselling, coaching, and psychotherapy to young adults and working adults suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, social anxiety, interpersonal problems, trauma, self-esteem issues, and life transitions. Vanessa works well with the women population, the millennial generation, and working adults to successfully overcome mental health issues and achieve positive life outcomes.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Vanessa has a Master of Counselling from Flinders University, Australia, a Graduate Diploma in Counselling from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from the University of San Francisco, USA, and a Diploma in Art Therapy from the College for Educational and Clinical Art Therapy (CECAT), Australia, Singapore. Her other qualification includes a Master of Letters in Managing in the Creative Industries.

Vanessa adopts an integrative counselling approach to tailor to the needs of each client. She is well-versed in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Person-Centered Approaches, Psychodynamic approaches, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), and Transactional Analysis (TA). Outside of clinical practice, Vanessa has interests in existential and transpersonal psychology, which explore the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human condition. She adopts a holistic view of mental wellness, attending to the psychospiritual domain of the individual to understand one’s higher nature and purpose in life.

Professional Membership

Vanessa is an Associate Member with the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors Singapore (APACS), a certified coach by Collective Change Institute, and was credentialed by International Coach Federation (ICF) as Associate Certified Coach (ACC).

Other Experiences

Vanessa has a wealth of experience in Arts, Human Resources, and Education. She has taught visual art to children from 3 years old to teens, including drawing, sketching, and water-colouring. She has experience conducting outreach and supporting seniors in the community through an Active Ageing Centre.

Senior Associate Psychologist

MAPACS(L2), MSPS, MA Art Therapy (Candidate), GradCert Psychotherapeutic Approaches (CBT), BA (Psych) (Hons), Dip Early Childhood Education, Certified PFA

The Lion Mind

Vivien is a mental health clinician with The Lion Mind. She has more than five years of working experiences with children, teenagers, youths, and adults. Over at The Lion Mind, Vivien specialises in working with the population of children, teenagers, young adults, adults, and women. She also co-facilitates the workshop on psychotherapeutic approaches (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) and helps to guide participants through their discussions.

On behalf of The Lion Mind, Vivien has co-presented in the Happiness Conference 2020 on the topic “Empathy Matters“, sharing and demonstrating the importance of having empathy. In addition, Vivien facilitates corporate talks for organisations such as ‘Combating Stress & Burnout’, ‘Combating Insomnia’, and ‘Empowering & Connecting with your Child’.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Vivien has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, US, and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education (Teaching & Leadership) from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She is well-versed in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy(CBT). She is also a certified Psychological First Aider. Vivien is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Art Therapy by Goldsmiths, University of London.

Professional Membership

Vivien is a registered Level 2 Practitioner (membership no. A225) with the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors Singapore (APACS), a Full Member (membership no. FM022064L) with the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS), and a member of the Psi Chi Honor Society.

Other Experiences

Vivien was the Designer of the APACS Marketing & Publicity subcommittee from February 2020 to February 2022. She provided quality publication support and established mental health community outreach to the general public. Her leading design portfolio – The Gazette (issue 0 to 5).

Associate Psychologist / Clinical Psychotherapist

AssocMAPS, MCoun (Candidate), GDip Psychology (Advanced), GDip Psychology (Bridging) (Dist), PGD Education, BSc (Comp Sci with Math & Stats)

The Lion Mind

Samantha is a mental health clinician with The Lion Mind. With a strong foundation in education, she has spent 14 years as an educator, specializing in student character development and support. Her nine years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry have further honed her interpersonal skills and her ability to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Samantha’s extensive experience working with parents, children, and teenagers has deepened her understanding of their distinct needs and challenges. Committed to delivering comprehensive and compassionate care, she employs a client-centred approach to ensure the well-being of her clients. Samantha works well with the adult population, the millennial generation, parents, and youths.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

Samantha has a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced) from the University of Adelaide, a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Bridging) (Distinction) from James Cook University (Australia), and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. Her other education includes a Bachelor of Science in Computational Science with Mathematics & Statistics. She has completed an accredited course (ACA, IOATH) on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Samantha is currently pursuing her Master of Counselling with Monash University.

Professional Membership

Samantha is an Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society.

Other Experiences

Alongside her clinical commitments, Samantha is deeply immersed in the realm of research. Presently, she is dedicatedly contributing to a research initiative assessing individual and collaborative creative thinking within diverse contexts. This undertaking underscores her resolute commitment to remaining abreast of the cutting-edge advancements within her field.

Clinical Director / Co-founder

MAPACS(L4S), MSPS, PCMSAC, MCoun, BA(Psych), Spc Dip Career Counselling, P Dip Psychotherapy, Certified PFA, Registered Clinical Supervisor (APACS)

The Lion Mind

As a Clinical Director (Principal Counsellor) of The Lion Mind, James provides affordable counselling services to clients, presents public talks, and facilitates workshops. He also provides clinical directions for the organisation, and a nurturing environment for his junior clinicians to grow their clinical skills.

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

James has over 12 years of diverse experience spanning across multiple industries, including education, healthcare, mental health, non-profit organizations, and social services. As a strong believer in using evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), he provides high-quality counselling services to his clients. His counselling techniques encompass a range of approaches, including Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Furthermore, he excels in providing career counselling, group counselling, psychiatric rehabilitation counselling, and delivering the 5Es of renal rehabilitation.

James works well with the working adults, young adults , millennials, NSFs, tertiary students, and youths (13 to 35 years old). He also provides personal therapy to students pursuing counselling postgraduate studies, and clinical supervision to mental health clinicians registered with APACS.

In addition to counselling, James is familiar with the various psychological assessments and tests. He has received formal education in administering and interpreting them. These include (but not exhaustive) the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Roberts Apperception Test for Children: 2 (Roberts-2), the Children Apperception Test (CAT), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Tree-House-Person (THP) projective test, and the NEO Personality Inventory, Third Edition (NEO-PI-3). He is also exposed to diagnostic tests such as Conners Third Edition (Conners 3), and various intelligence tests such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB-5), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th Edition (WAIS-IV), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V), the Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV), and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices Second Edition (Raven’s 2).

James also believes strongly in continuing education and life-long learning. To date, he has a Master in Counselling from Monash University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from the National University of Singapore (NUS). His other professional qualifications include a Professional Diploma in Psychotherapy from The School of Positive Psychology, and a Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling from Republic Polytechnic. He is also a WSQ Certified HR Professional (Recruitment & Selection), a certified Advanced Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator, and a certified Psychological First Aider. He has also completed the course on CITI Good Clinical Practice Course (ID 34090), Social & Behavioral Research – Basic/Refresher (ID 34086), Suicide Intervention Skills Workshop by Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), ACA / APACS Professional Supervision Course, a Certificate in Teaching & Learning for Polytechnic Educators, and an Advance Certificate in Learning & Performance (ACLP).

Professional Membership

James has been a registered Level 4S Practitioner (membership no. A0084) with the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors Singapore (APACS) since 2013.  He has been a Full Member (membership no. FM019005C) with the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS) since 2019. He is also a registered supervisor with APACS since 2021. James has recently joined the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC) as a Provisional Clinical Member (membership no. D0582).

James was an Affiliate member with the Australian Psychological Society (APS, 2013 to 2022) and was a registered member with the Australia Counselling Association (ACA) College of Supervisors (membership no. COSIRS0027, 2021 to 2023).

Other Experiences

James has served as the Honorary Treasurer and an Executive Committee (EXCO) member of APACS from February 2020 to February 2022. As a representative of APACS, James worked closely with other mental healthcare practitioners, and policymakers to shape the local mental healthcare scene. Through the APACS-HSEU-NTUC retainer clinic programme, James provides counselling to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital staff from 2020 to 2022.

In addition to his work with The Lion Mind, James is an Associate Lecturer with Republic Polytechnic. He facilitates healthcare and social services related modules such as ‘Advanced Integrated Care Planning’, ‘Biopsychosocial Aspects of Ageing’, ‘Communication & Health Coaching’, ‘ Social & Family Dynamics’, ‘Multidisciplinary & Multisectoral Care for Seniors’, ‘Advanced Integrated Care Planning’, and ‘Advanced Care Coordination & Navigation’.

James has presented in two oral presentations during the 5^th Asia Pacific Rim International Psychotherapy and Counselling Conference 2017 in Singapore, and has published a peer-reviewed paper in the Australia Counselling Association (ACA)’s Counselling Australia Magazine.