Michael Thong, CPsychol(UK), SRP(SG)
Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society
Registered Clinical Psychologist, Singapore Psychological Society
SRP Approved Clinical Supervisor, Singapore Psychological Society
About Michael
Michael have been in private practice since 2014. He is a chartered registered Clinical Psychologist and counsellor with Rogerian Psychology Centre.
He is experienced in stress management, burnout, depression, anxiety management, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality issues, family, relationships, LGBTQ+ issue, anger management, addiction, organizational behavior, career counseling, training, intelligence testing and diagnostics, learning deficiency testing, personality profiling and assessment.
Michael began his career as a Licensed Psychological Associate at Rusk State Hospital at Rusk, Texas USA (under supervision of Dr. Burt Gebbert, Dr Sarah Hess, Dr. Karl Witt, Dr. Dennis Combs) and clocked more than 3000 direct contact hours with patients in a practical setting. Rusk State Hospital is a state forensic psychiatric hospital that deals with maximum security inmates, severe mental disorders, and high intensity drug abusers.
There he worked with patients with schizophrenia, borderline personality, bipolar, anti-social behavior, depression, anxiety, ‘claimed’ dissociative identity disorders, among other mental health concerns. His role requires him to perform various psychological assessments, neuropsychological assessments, projective tests, malingering tests, dangerous review assessments, lie detection, and cognitive therapies. He eventually returned to Singapore have since been in professional practice with experience spanning across several industries such as healthcare, finance, education, and social services working with diverse client population.
Michael is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and Registered Clinical Psychologist with Singapore Psychological Society. Michael is also a Singapore Registered Psychologist (SRP) Approved Supervisor. He holds a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from University of Texas, USA.
Michael’s counselling and therapy style is generally driven by positive psychology, and a person centered approach where there is a significant emphasis on empathy, and compassion (Rogerian). Coupled with blended approach of Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral and Solution Focused approach, Emotional Focused Approach as well as Behavioral Therapy approach. Michael take a dialectical stance in using “nudges” to help his clients move towards constructive behavioral change and adopting helpful habits.
Michael’s journey as a marriage and couples therapist began through his own negative experience with a marriage therapist. That negative experience highlighted to him the importance of having a marriage and couples therapists that is governed by ethics, not projecting their personal issues at clients, as well as being objective and mediative during client work.
While working with couples, Michael applies Gottman Method of Relationship Therapy and Minuchin Relationship Therapy approach, serving as a mediator to clarify relationship misunderstanding and reconciling issues faced by couples.
Certifications and Qualifications
Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society
Registered Clinical Psychologist, Singapore Psychological Society
Approved Clinical Supervisor, Singapore Psychological Society
Certified Crisis Responder, National Organization for Victim Assistance
MSc in Clinical Psychology (Neuropsychology), University of Texas, USA
Focused Population
Adult, Youth, Couples
Specialization
Marital counselling and therapy, anger management, LGBTQ+ concerns, stress management, anxiety, burnout, depression, borderline personality issues, addiction, man’s health and mental wellness, corporate mental wellness, past trauma and buried issues.
Therapeutic Approach
Positive Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, Solutions Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Emotional Focused Therapy, Psychodynamic, Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Person-Centred-Approach, Gottman Relationship Therapy, Minuchin Relationship Therapy.