dynamic counselling centre

HELLO

About Me

Ann Ding Choong Ai

(Counsellor/hypnotherapist)

My own journey into counselling begin in my mid-thirties in which I reached the cross road in my career and life. I did a lot of self-reflection and soul searching and begin a long journey on self-exploration at the late age of 36. The bump and hump along the way had made me the person I am today. Counselling had been for me a personal journey of finding myself, keep on moving and healing myself despite some bump and bruises along the way.

My personal motto had been “if it doesn’t kill you it make you stronger” a popular quote by 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and catchy tunes from the song “Stronger (what doesn’t kill)” by Kelly Clarkson. Thus, with this belief I want to walk the journey with you to find a stronger self, knowing yourself better and at the same time achieve inner peace and finding important missing puzzle from your life and work toward a life that you always wanted.

I focus on what the client wants to achieve from the counseling session and work on from there, be it issues on relationships, work, bad memories from childhood etc. I believed every one of us had that strength in us and with counseling/therapy will be able to discover a stronger self and able to make better life choices, take charge and responsibility in our current life choices, decision and direction based on your own values and beliefs. You can expect a two-way therapeutic relationship with me, a safe environment to share and explore, emphatic, non-judgmental and supportive counselor/therapist who will work and walk together with you in your journey in life exploration, handling life challenges, or any other various issues that you might have. I am trained in multicultural counselling, adept in counselling individual with different cultural background, values, gender and sexuality, etc. I am also comfortable and had experiences in handling expatriate’s client.

My qualification

I hold a Master in Psychology Counselling, UKM, Bangi, 2014. I am a Registered & Licensed Counsellor with Board of Counselling Malaysia (KB05721). I had completed my basic level on EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) which is memory processing and it work wonders for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and distressing memories/traumas. I had also recently completed my training in hypnotherapy and am a Registered and Licensed Hypnotherapist with American Board of Hypnotherapist. Currently am in training for Sand Play Specialist (in progress). My own experiences with learning as a therapist, the more you learn the more you realize that’s more to learn and in learning, so a step at a time in my own learning journey.

I see client strictly on appointment basis and are open for session appointment on weekday normal working hour, evening, weekend and public holidays. I practiced within Cheras, Klang Valley and Petaling Jaya vicinity. My centre is located at Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya. For appointment please call/whats app to 0123039880 or email to Ann@dynamiccounsellingcentre.com

Note: for home visit an agreed fee for transportation will be charged and for selected cases or situation only.

How I see myself or how some of my client see themselves during therapy?

Well in therapy it’s always important to be kind to oneself and manage our expectation and learn to manage the self-criticism or self-bashing if any. Thus, for client that see themselves as broken I always like to use the term – Let’s see our self as this broken vase, nevertheless a unique and one of a kind in this world, its limited edition, its unique despite the flaws and stuff – so let glue this broken piece with super glue. I recalled an ex client was laughing (in a happy way) and visualize he had lot of plaster on his vase.  Let this plaster be a badge of someone who gone thru and struggled thru a lot, survived and thrived. Though now I learned to termed it as let’s see yourself as this piece of Kintsugi vase. If it’s shattered let’s rebuild them pieces by pieces to something new and strong. The analogy of the ‘shattered vase’ was also a part of my thesis on post trauma growth, a concept introduced by Richard Tedeschi. Here an interesting article on shattered vase, talking about how we rebuild something new and special from all the broken pieces of the vase.

Here some wonderful art pieces done with shattered glass such as mosaic art pieces, wall frame, vase etc. and photos are taken from various sources from the web.

As for the analogy of broken vase here find some interesting reading on Kintsugi which is an ancient art of mending broken pieces with gold or silver epoxy and make it more beautiful despite the flaws and the flaws itself is what make it more beautiful, interesting isn’t?  Please google for reading on Kintsugi, such an interesting art and concept which fit perfectly into the concept of healing and counselling.  Here find out more on Kintsugi art of mending broken pieces as shared by Becca Risa Luna who is a writer and designer who advocate on mental health : You Aren’t Broken. You Are Kintsugi. Becca Risa Luna. and From Broken to Beautiful: The Power of ‘Kintsugi.  Val Jon Farris .

Here some interesting quotes and Kintsugi’s pieces from around the website on the beauty of Kintsugi and the beauty of being broken, survived and thrived.

Korean artist Yee Sookyung constructs massive ceramic sculptures that are crafted from rejected porcelain pieces made by contemporary Korean pottery master Lim Hang-Taek. She uses the kintsugi technique to build, not repair. (www.dianesavonaart.com)

Ernest Hemingway

Horacio Jones

Rumi

Sometime when working with client I will share the analogy of WIP (work in progress), i.e. important to be kind to self and manage our expectation on realistic change. I see myself too as a WIP and a wounded healer. Here an interesting article on wounded healer.  I especially like the part in which Irwin Yalom in The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients, quoted this: on therapist and client.

Here some interesting read why a wounded healer make the best therapist. Personally, I felt our past help to mold us to the person we are today and the suffering, the happiness and all of it are what made life meaningful and worth living. Though with our professional training we need to be self-aware and mindful so our past is used as a tool but not a baggage in therapy.  This is what my lecturer used to share – she called it “the rainbow of life”, “spices of life”. I am here today because of my past, and it lead me to the vocation of being a counselor and I felt grateful and blessed to be able to work at a career that hold meaning and purpose in life and at the same time juggling work life balance and also being a work at home mum.

Feel free to contact me for enquiry and to go on this Kintsugi’s journey together. I am contactable at +60123039880 or email me at Ann@dynamiccounsellingcentre.com