Evelyn Wong
Licensed and Registered Counselor
Couple and Family Therapist
Certified Play Therapist
I started getting into counselling more than 30 years ago as a lay counsellor in a non-profit Christian student organization. With basic training, I counselled and guided tertiary students as they maneuvered through and coped with life as a late adolescent and young adult.
Before that, during my undergraduate years, I often found myself in the psychology section of the library even though I was doing a Science degree. I was curious to better understand how people function psychologically and intrigued with how past and present events impact a person profoundly and deeply. It took many years after graduation and the experience as a lay counsellor before I decided to pursue professional counselling as a career.
After becoming a professional counsellor, I worked in social services and at schools in Singapore. This expanded my world and broadened my perspective. I gained experience adapting to a new place, culture and education system, even though the difference between Singapore and Malaysia is subtle.
Since returning to Malaysia in 2011, I have been seeing clients in private practice, from children to older people. As a Satir family therapist, I work with couples and families and do parenting coaching. I use Satir’s approach as my framework because it has a holistic view of the person and a systemic aspect. Satir is well known for her iceberg metaphor of the person. As people understand themselves and the people around them using the iceberg metaphor, and as they relate to each other at a deeper level of the iceberg, their communication and relationship take a different turn, whether it is between spouses/partners or other family members.
For 9 years, I also worked in an international school in Malaysia, heading the department and supporting students from nursery to year 11. At school, I conduct individual and group therapy for neurotypical as well as neurodivergent children and teenagers. In addition to doing therapy with students, my systemic approach included working collaboratively with their parents and teachers, and occasionally, I did parent-child sessions. Apart from my work as a therapist, I also conducted talks and workshops about stress management, friendship, motivation, mental health and well-being, and various aspects of personal development for students and teachers, as well as parenting workshops. I ran transition programmes for incoming students, career exploration workshops, and a peer-support programme for students.
Realising that talk therapy does not work with children, I got trained in play therapy. Being a play therapist means I am trained to use various expressive mediums such as art, sand tray, music, and movement, which I can also use to engage adult clients in individual, couple, or family sessions.
Education & Professional Licenses/ Accreditation
Licensed and Registered Counselor, Malaysian Board of Counsellors
Accredited Clinical Supervisor, Malaysian Board of Counsellors
Post Graduated Diploma in Play Therapy (Certified Play Therapist) (Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy – Play Therapy International, U.K.) (2019-2021)
Post Graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills (Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy – Play Therapy International, U.K.) (2017-2019)
Specialist Diploma in Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (Satir Institute of Singapore with Satir Institute of the Pacific, Canada) (2011-2015)
Certificate in Special Needs Training – Early Childhood and Special Needs Education Academic Group, NIE-NTU Singapore (2010-2011)
Master of Social Science (Counselling) Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia (2005-2006)
Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Biochemistry & Microbiology) Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia (Now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia) (1990-1994)
Other qualifications/ training
Foundations to Neuroscience and Satir in the Sand Tray (Certified Therapist) by Dr Madeleine De Little – Playful Dyad (2022-2023)
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instrument accredited administrator by CPP Asia Pacific (now known as The Myer-Briggs Company) (2008)
Strong Interest Inventory Instrument accredited administrator by CPP Asia Pacific (now known as The Myer-Briggs Company) (2008)