Clinical psychologists 'rare species' in M'sia: Doc
Published on: Thursday, January 21, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: ASSOCIATE Professor of Clinical Psychology, Dr Alvin Ng from Sunway University, who conducted the Workshop on Living Positively and 5Gs of Happiness, said clinical psychologists are a "rare species" in Malaysia. He is instrumental in advancing the field of clinical psychology in Malaysia."There are only 140 clinical psychologists in the whole country. For 11 years, I trained more than half of the country's clinical psychologists at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)," he said. At UKM, he also practised as a clinical psychologist at the Health Psychology Clinic, seeing adult as well as children clients.Trained as a clinical psychologist, Dr Ng specialises in behaviour modification, autism management, and behaviour fluency with interest in depression and anxiety disorders.
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Making a distinction between a psychologist and a psychiatrist, he said psychiatrists are medical doctors who do an extra postgraduate study (Master of Psychiatry or Psychological Medicine) which means they are able to prescribe medication to treat mental illness."I don't do that. Psychiatrists give pills but I give skills for a better quality of life," he quipped. "So I am more like a coach, using psychological therapies and methods to help people understand their emotions and improve their wellbeing. In other words, I assess and diagnose and most importantly, help prevent mental illness through positive behaviour. Today's workshop is my prevention work."As a clinical psychologist, Dr Ng makes an assessment through observation, interviews and psychometric tests.
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At the workshop, he imparted skills to the participants on how to deal with negative behaviour and to increase positive behaviour in themselves as well as in others.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Your livelihood will affect other people's livelihood in a more positive way and that prevents mental illness," said the Founding President of the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology that he helped establish in 2010.
