Dr. Serena In
Senior Clinical Psychologist
My journey into mental health began with a curious observation of extraordinary human behaviors and relationship dynamics from my schooling days. Throughout my higher education years, I continued to actively serve for a decade in a community-based youth and college ministries in various settings. All these hands-on experiences kept me grounded to the needs and plights of individuals and families in our local community. I am still actively involved in community engagement mental-health initiatives.
To date, I have had more than 15 years of clinical experience worked with a diverse population of clients globally, including expatriates, as well as refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, to help them effectively cope with life transitions, financial difficulties and adjustment issues that come with living in a foreign country. I have conducted psychological assessments and intervention with children, teenagers and working adults dealing with behavioral, emotional difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, grief, academic/work stress, pregnancy, postpartum challenges, maternal mental health, parenting, relationship difficulties, and pre-marital counselling. Specifically, my passion lies in working with couples and families throughout the marriage and family life cycle. I believe that the family is the most fundamental unit in society which has so much potential to thrive amidst complicated life situations, given the right support resources.
As a practitioner, I adopt an integrative approach to therapy, which incorporates a combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion-Focused Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Play Therapy and Gottman Couples Therapy. I also incorporate religion/spirituality into therapy for those who specifically request for it. I believe in empowering my clients to learn skills for themselves in order to be more psychologically adaptive. I am also an advocate for collaboration with other professionals in a multidisciplinary approach to ensure clients get the best mental healthcare possible.
As an educator, I have been teaching Psychology at the undergraduate and postgraduate level for more than 15 years in private universities, having supervised more than 25 Masters-level trainee clinical psychologists over the last 8 years. My research interests are in the areas of family resilience, maternal mental health, marital adjustment, suicide prevention and adolescent mental health among Malaysian families. Ultimately, my vision is for Malaysians to adopt more preventive approaches with regards to mental well-being and it starts with using evidence-based information.
Apart from work, I am a mother of three school-going children, from whom I learn the most about life. My marriage and family continue to humble and inspire me to “walk the talk” in life and work.
