Our TNC Trainers

Melissa Chang, Senior Psychologist
Melissa is a clinical psychologist with the Psychosocial Trauma Support Service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She works with children and women who have experienced past traumatic events including sexual and/or physical abuse, and early childhood maltreatment. Melissa has a strong interest in implementing and providing trauma-informed care in various social service and healthcare sectors. She lectures at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and has provided numerous trainings for professionals ranging from residential care staff to social workers. 

Jemi Chen, Principal Psychologist
Jemi is a clinical psychologist with the Psychosocial Trauma Support Service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She is an instructor with Be the LIGHT course. Jemi works with children and youth who have been through stressful life experiences and trauma, and supports them in their journey through a family-centred approach, and with evidence-based trauma assessments and interventions. She provides crisis support to children hospitalised for injuries or abuse-related concerns, conducts talks to increase trauma awareness, and is passionate about helping people understand the trauma experience from a compassionate lens. Jemi is trained in other crisis protocols, such as Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). Jemi also has experience with child development and special needs, and has previous working experience in the assessment and intervention of autism spectrum disorders in young children. Jemi aspires to help every child feel seen and heard, and hopes to share trauma-informed knowledge that would help adults understand each child’s experience a little better. 

Bernard Chen, Senior Social Worker
Bernard is a senior social worker with Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home in the Safe and Strong Families - Reunification (SSF-R) programme. He works with children and youth staying in out-of-home care (OHC) placements due to concerns of abuse or neglect and their families, to resolve past issues and create sustainable safety for reunification. Bernard has been an instructor with Be the LIGHT course since 2018 and has run trainings for fellow social service practitioners and volunteers working with children and youth. 

Elaine Chua, Child and Family Therapist
Elaine has been privileged to work with children, adolescents and families. She has over 20 years of experience as a social worker and family therapist. She started her journey in the social service sector, the government service and now in private practice. Her experience and training with people from different walks of life has provided her with a wealth of practice experience, knowledge and skills. She was assistant manager at the Counselling and Intervention Unit, which provided therapeutic services for families and children within Child Protection Service at the Ministry of Social and Family Development. After leaving the Ministry, Elaine was part of the pioneering team at HEART@Fei Yue Child Protection Specialist Centre as an external clinical supervisor when it first started. Currently, she provides parenting workshops, clinical supervision to play therapy supervisees while continuing with her passion which is to provide therapeutic support and services to children and families. Elaine has been trained to provide Psychological First Aid (PFA) to Children and she is also a PFA trainer. She provided training to civil servants, mental health professionals, community and grassroot leaders, and National Care Hotline volunteers. Elaine remains child-focused and grounded both in trauma-informed practice, systems theory and social work, with specializations in Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), play therapy, sandplay and attachment-focused family therapy. 

Tina George, Senior Psychologist
Tina is a clinical psychologist with the Psychosocial Trauma Support Service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She works with children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events and other stressful life events, while also supporting caregivers of those affected. As part of her job, she also conducts talks that focus on raising awareness about trauma and its impact on an individual. Tina is currently an instructor with the Be The LIGHT course and the Psychological First Aid course (World Health Organisation). She is dedicated to ensuring that children and adolescents in crisis get the assistance that they need, and believes that all individuals can be empowered with the skills needed to support these children and adolescents.

Jesseln Goh, Senior Clinical Psychologist
Jesseln is currently working as a senior clinical psychologist at Community Psychology Hub where she works with social service agencies in early intervention. She also works with children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events, such as child abuse and witnessing domestic violence. She enjoys conducting trainings with parents and other social service professionals, facilitating the exchange knowledge and skills from participants. Her other interests include working with families and children with special needs. Jesseln has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course from 2018. She looks forward to learning together with participants to pick up the necessary skills and knowledge to support children and adolescents in crisis. 

Goh Sin Er, Senior Psychologist
Sin Er is a registered clinical psychologist at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. Her clinical work and interests include delivering evidence-based assessment and interventions to children and youth who have experienced various types of traumatic events. Sin Er is also a master trainer in Psychological First Aid for Children, and Be the LIGHT: Crisis Support for Children and Youth since 2018. She is passionate about teaching, and loves equipping others to provide trauma-informed support to children and youth.

Ho Yiling, Principal Psychologist
Yiling is a clinical psychologist with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She works with women who have experienced past traumatic events including sexual and/or physical abuse, and early childhood maltreatment. She also has had experience in child welfare and crisis work, having worked with children and adolescents who were exposed to abuse and neglect in their families. Her other areas of interest include increasing awareness about psychological trauma and the importance of providing trauma informed care in various social service and healthcare sectors. Yiling has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2019, and has provided trainings for professionals ranging from residential care staff to social workers.

Michelle Ho Soo Yan, Principal Clinical Psychologist
Michelle is a registered clinical psychologist with T.A.P: The Affinity People Pte Ltd.  Her area of specialisation lies primarily in child abuse and neglect and she also has experience working with children and teenagers with challenging behaviours and are known to the juvenile justice system. She has a wide range of clinical interests that include trauma assessment and evidence-based trauma interventions, attachment, parent skills training, disaster management, crisis intervention, emotional regulation, behavioural management, and mental health issues. Michelle has also been trained as an instructor for the courses such as the Family and Adult Support Tool (FAST), Sector Specific Screening Guide (SSSG), Child Abuse Reporting Guide (CARG), Psychological First Aid (PFA, National Child Traumatic Stress Network), Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR, National Child Traumatic Stress Network), Psychological First Aid for Children (PFA – Children, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital) and Be the Light: Crisis Support for Children and Youths (KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital).

Jean Kwek, Principal Psychologist
Ms Jean Kwek is a clinical psychologist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), where she provides trauma interventions such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to children and youth who have experienced various types of traumatic events. Jean is the current Project Head for the Trauma Network for Children (TNC), which was established to disseminate and build capacity for trauma-focused intervention skills in Singapore’s community. Her research interests include looking at the psychological impact of trauma on children and youth, and evaluating trauma-focused interventions to ensure that they remain culturally appropriate and effective for Singaporean children. Jean is a trainer in Psychological First Aid for Children (PFA), Be the LIGHT: Crisis Intervention for Children and Youth (LIGHT).

Lim Xin Yi, Senior Principal Psychologist
Ms Xin Yi Lim is a senior principal clinical psychologist and Head of Psychosocial Trauma Support Service (PTSS), at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Singapore. Her clinical and research interest include complex trauma in children and community dissemination of evidence-based trauma –focused expertise. Xin Yi’s hospital based work involves the care of children with trauma related difficulties, from a range of potentially traumatic events, including medical trauma, accidental injury, and non-accidental injury. Xin Yi is also significantly involved in the Programme to Enhance the Stay Prepared-Trauma Network for Children, which aims to enhance the psychosocial trauma-focused capabilities and resources in the community to support children post crisis and trauma. Xin Yi is a trainer in Be the LIGHT, Psychological First Aid, and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Singapore), and is passionate about increasing capacity to plug observed gaps in child trauma and crisis support. 

Alva Liow Chiew Shan, Senior Clinical Psychologist
Alva is a senior clinical psychologist with Community Psychology Hub (CPH). She teams up with individuals, families, and various community partners to tackle mental health issues and highly stressful situations, including traumatic events. Alva believes each individual has the resilience to overcome life adversities and can be supported to express their voices and be meaningfully engaged in the community. She hopes to equip more people with the knowledge and passion to support children and families in crisis through the Be The Light course. 

Quah Saw Han, Director/Principal Clinical Psychologist
Saw Han is a clinical psychologist in private practice. For the past 20 years, she has worked with children, young persons and their families in relation to child protection, juvenile crime and family issues. She has a strong interest in trauma and resilience and serve as a volunteer at a child protection specialist centre and a social service agency. Saw Han has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2018. She has mainly run trainings for community volunteers with various skill sets, rating from administrative staff to social service professionals. 

Lynn Soh, Senior Principal Psychologist
Lynn Soh is a registered psychologist in private practice. She is an instructor with the Be the Light course as well as a Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) trainer in Singapore since 2017. She is also trained in Eye Movement Desensitizing Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Lynn has been dedicated to helping children, adolescents, and adults heal and recover from stressful and traumatic life experiences, so they can move forward in living their lives more fully. Through more than 13 years of service in the field of mental health and psychology, her interests and experience are in trauma assessment and intervention, working with individuals seeking psychological well-being, stress, depression and anxiety management, and to improve their interpersonal relationships. Over the years as a trauma-informed practitioner, she has included in her practice psychodynamic and humanistic approaches, somatic experiencing, as well as mindfulness, in addition to cognitive-behavioural therapy. Lynn is passionate about helping people and supporting them in coming to a deeper relationship with themselves through compassion, healing, recovery and self-discovery. 

Amy Tan Chwee Peng, Senior Counsellor
Amy is a Senior Counsellor with Care Corner Singapore Ltd. She works with various types of cases including Domestic Violence cases, helping both the adults and the children who experienced trauma of different forms. Amy is a certified therapist for the Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy which is a form of psychotherapy included in several evidence- based guidelines for the treatment of PTSD. In addition, Amy is trained in Play Therapy which she uses to engage and help children in need. Amy has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2018 and is passionate about equipping participants with the knowledge to support children and adolescents in crisis. She runs trainings for VWO participants and lay people who work with children and adolescents. 

Jolie Tan Sze-Hsien, Principal Trainer and Consultant
Jolie runs her own training and consultancy firm specialising in providing psychology-based solutions to the social service sector. She aspires to equip helping professionals with knowledge to support clients in their healing process and in their journey towards maximising their potential. Jolie has been an instructor with the Be the Light Course since 2018 and she has trained participants with various skills sets. Jolie has conducted numerous trainings on topics related to trauma recovery, working with children and youths, behaviour modification and self-injury as well. Jolie was a psychologist with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and she worked with clients that presented with trauma-related issues. In addition, she used to co-ordinate the Ministry's psychological services in Singapore Girls' Home, and worked extensively with various voluntary children's homes and schools.

Tan Hui Shan Melody, Senior Psychologist
Melody is working as a Senior Psychologist with MINDS Fernvale Gardens School. She works with students diagnosed with moderate to severe intellectual disability (ID), with some diagnosed with co-morbidities such as Autism, various syndromes. Melody has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2018, and has worked closely with participants of the course to find practical ways on how to better support children and teenagers with ID as well as the stakeholders connected to them. She has mainly run trainings for teachers and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in the special education sector; skill sets vary from those who have teaching background while others provide therapy or support caregivers. In her spare time, she also provides her time and service to the police (SPF) in assisting as an Appropriate Adult (AA) during police interviews for people with special needs and mental health concerns.

James Wong, Senior Counsellor
James Wong is a Senior Counsellor with The SBL Vision Family Service Centre. He holds a Master Degree in Counselling. His work mainly includes counselling children, individuals, and families with issues such as self-concept, mental health, marital, and parenting. He also conducts group work for clients with topics pertaining to emotional management. Prior to being a Counsellor, James was an Outdoor Educator working with children to corporate clients, which heightened his understanding of individual’s life perceptions. To date, James has nearly ten years of clinical experience and he works extensively in helping individuals to improve mental health related concerns such as trauma, unresolved past issues, depression, and anxiety. He adopts an integrative approach to meet client’s multiple needs with a focus to empower them through self-mastery and awareness. This usually brings a shift in the client’s perceptions for a more sustainable intervention outcome. James has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2018.

Cayden Woo, Deputy Director
Cayden is a Deputy Director with Singapore Children’s Society. He is heading Sunbeam Place, a residential care service for children who have been abused, severely neglected, or face severe family crises. Prior to this, he was involved in the Safe and Strong Families Reunification program, residential case work, family service centre case work and prison aftercare work. He is passionate in working with children, young persons and their caregivers, and has strong interest in child developmental trauma and in developing a trauma-informed care milieu. Cayden has been an instructor with the Be the LIGHT course since 2018, and has run trainings for various Children’s Homes. He has a Master of Social Work and is an ACTA certified trainer. 

Geraldine Yang-Peterson, Principal Counselling Psychologist
Geraldine Yang-Peterson is a registered counselling Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor with the Singapore Registry of Psychologist. She is also a registered vendor with the Ministry of Education. She has 20 years’ work experience in the Psychology and Counselling field working with early-risk and at-risk children, adolescents, adults from vulnerable families and has journeyed with children and adolescents who had been traumatized, and/or were exhibiting behavioural issues. Apart from being a qualified trainer for Psychological First Aid, she is also trained in other crisis management protocols such as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, Skills for Psychological Recovery, ASIST Suicide Intervention, and is a certified Caring Actions in Response to Emergencies (CARE) officer. Clinically, Geraldine adopts a client-centred approach. Her clinical experience lies in areas pertaining to violent offending, sex offending, self-injurious and suicidal behaviours, attachment disorders, emotional functioning, crisis intervention and trauma. Geraldine was previously involved in an organizational partnership with the then Family and Juvenile Justice Centre (FJJC) on the Family Violence Outreach programme. She is experienced the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She is also certified in the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.