Melissa Tai
Advocator, not your enabler | Challenges the Status Quo | Your Personal Cheerleader
Licensed & Registered Counsellor (KB 10930 | PA 10532)
I enjoy the process of analysing patterns and using my creativity to explore ways to allow people to attune into their mind and body. The joy in the faces of the people I worked with when they see the light at the end of the tunnel and being able to witness their own potential is what I find meaningful in the work I do.
The Lens
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) · Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) · Internal Family System (IFS)
We all want to be seen, heard, felt and understood. We want to know that someone is with us in our pain as we wait for it to move through us and for clarity to emerge.
As Dr Kathryn Rheem said, “When we can share our pain with a safe other, we are healing our histories together.”
In therapy, this is where change can happen. I believe everyone has the right to make choices that align with their values, one that makes you feel most at yourself without feeling the need to perform.
“Remember who you were before the world told you who to be.”
— Unknown.
In the Room.
I don’t have a particular therapy manual guide that can tell me if this way of therapy would work for you. What I do know is, “not one size fits all” and I value autonomy and flexibility so in my therapy room, you get to decide how much you like to share and at what pace: surface level conversation to check the vibe, diving deep right away, feeling all over the place as you untangle your thoughts more, or simply pausing to create a space for yourself to just be.
Life itself can be a lot on its own. What matters to me is you make time to show up for yourself and how you want to show up is for you to decide at that moment.
You might notice me doing this in The Room…
I may say, “Let’s find yourself in a comfortable sitting position and whenever you’re ready, take one full deep breath in”. I slow down the process to ground you.
I may, weirdly, ask you to describe more of your feelings and take you through an adventure of connecting with parts of yourself. The part of you that requires attention.
I may draw shapes, maps or diagrams using paper, coloured pens or objects to structure our minds together. Something that enables you to understand the complexity in the simplest measure.
The best part about this whole process is everyone is different because you are unique. The collaborative relationship that we have is what makes both of us as therapist-client relationship work!
Outside of the Room…
I teach people how to move better so they can live better. You will of course, find me moving the body too because personally, I need it. Movement allows me to create space to free my mind. If I’m not doing either, I would be travelling, to explore the world and to expand my mind. I also enjoy taking myself out on a date, with a cup of coffee (or matcha) and a book.
Seriously, the paper that got me here…
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at HELP University
Masters of Professional Counselling at Monash University
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy in Externship & Core Skills (ICEEFT)
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy in Essentials (ICEEFT)
Brainspotting Phase 1
Gottman Method Level 1 & 2
PREP/ENRICH Assessment
I speak...
English
Cantonese (Conversational)
Mandarin (Conversational)
Bahasa Malaysia (Conversational)
What can we Explore…
Self Worth & Confidence
Emotional Management
Relationships & Attachments
Couple Assessment
Pre-Marital Therapy
In Their Words…
“Melissa made me feel very comfortable and I like how I’m able to understand the deeper meaning of how I’ve been feeling, why I reacted a certain way and it helps me to learn more about myself and my boundaries.”
— B.C.“Mel listens and introduces methods to help me sort through and organize my thoughts, which was exactly what I needed! .”
— N.M.“I liked being able to talk about my thoughts back and forth without judgement and with the assurance that I am in an emotionally safe space. I think it really helped with my confidence.”
— A.C.