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My Story

My philosophy for counselling and therapy

My strength in helping clients comes not only from professional training but also from my life experiences. I was a client in therapy for 3 years working on self-improvement, and what I learnt was a kindness that I will remember for life. 

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Connecting hearts and daring bravely as a therapist

I thought I can earn important relationships by gifting but life taught me a lesson the hard way. I was struggling with managing interpersonal relationships, but my therapist has unwavering trust in me. She looked into my eyes, with such a firm gaze that reaches my soul as she said, "You are not the unworthy and vulnerable person you perceive of yourself. I see you as a caring and loving person. I mean it."

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I was deeply puzzled. Why have trust in me when I couldn't even trust myself? Although I challenged her on my front, I was moved and in tears. Never in my life had anyone trusted me so daringly with what I am capable of being, and I told myself: "Jun, do this. She trusted you for years. She has done her part, it is now over to you." 

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I made the changes, and I was liberated from the mental prison I was in. It brought me to reach heights in life I could never achieve otherwise. A high school friend met me after my degree, and he asked, "You are so different from who you were in high school. What changed?" I know, it is counselling. 

 

So I am extending this kindness that I experienced with my therapist and sharing it with you. I want to create this place so safe that you feel okay to put down your defences -- maybe for the first time in your life, and you will come to see this part of yourself, this part that I believe is there deep down in you, radiating with immense possibilities.

 

I am a dreamer, but also a fighter who makes dreams come true. 

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Daring to dream

I invite you to dream, daringly, of a day when LGBTQ people can come home with important people in their lives where they see love in their eyes, and hold each other gently in their arms, whispering "Welcome home". If you love what you see, consider scheduling an appointment with me!

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My Credentials

Profile Summary

Liow Jun Wei is a Malaysian-licensed counsellor specializing in providing LGBT relationship counseling, and LGBT counselling in Malaysia. If you are looking for LGBT couples counseling in Malaysia, you could consider my service. 

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I graduated as the top student in my Bachelor and Master degrees, and I was awarded a full scholarship to pursue my PhD in Hong Kong. I have published multiple peer-reviewed articles in internationally respected journals on LGBTQ, and my dissertations in BSc, MOPC, and PhD are about LGBTQ. My specialization in LGBTQ also attracted international attention, and I was invited as the keynote speaker for SAIGE 2023 Virtual Conference (a division of the American Counseling Association). 

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I am not only a licensed counsellor in Malaysia but also an Associate member of the Malaysian Marriage and Family Therapy Association, a Professional Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Full Member of the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association.

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I am an LGBTQ-affirmative therapist, and I orient in humanistic-existential based therapy. I am a certified Meaning-Centered Therapist with the Viktor Frankl Institute Australia, and I have received intensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, an evidence-based approach. 

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Education

Doctor of Philosophy (pursuing)

Advanced Certificate in Couples and Family Therapy

Master of Professional Counselling (High Distinction)

BSc (Hons, First Class) Psychology

University of Hong Kong

Monash University, Malaysia campus

University of Guelph, Canada

International Medical University

Honors and awards
  • Dean's Award for Academic Excellence (Monash)
  • Best Graduate Award (Monash)
  • HKU Presidential PhD Scholar Programme (HKU)
  • Master of Professional Counselling Scholarship (Monash)
  • Tun Zahir's Merit Award (Top Student's Award) (IMU)
  • Dean's List (IMU)
  • Merit Award (7 times consecutively) (IMU)
Key Professional Training Received
  • Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy, Level 1
  • Emotionally Focused Family Therapy, Level 2
  • Emotionally Focused Family Therapy, Level 1 
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy, Core Skills B
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy, Core Skills A 
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy, Externship 
  • Emotion Deepening in EFT Transformation 
  • Emotion-Focused Therapy, Level 2
  • Emotion-Focused Therapy, Level 1 
  • Advanced Course in Meaning-Centered Therapy (Logotherapy) 
  • Motivational Interviewing 
  • Gottman's Couples Therapy Level 2
  • Gottman's Couples Therapy Level 1 
  • PREPARE/ENRICH Certified Facilitator 
  • Preventive and Relationship Enhancement Program 
  • Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Life (MBCT-L) 
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 
  • Affirming LGBT Lived Experience in CBT 
  • Telehealth for Mental Health Professionals 
  • Child-Centered Play Therapy Level 1 
  • Filial Play Skills
Professional Experiences
  • 2021 - 2021: Associate counsellor - Thrive Well
  • 2020 - 2021: Trainee counsellor - SOLS Health
  • 2020 - 2021: Trainee counsellor - Alpha Omega International College
  • 2019 - 2019: Research assistant - Monash University, Malaysia
  • 2018 - 2021: Play Therapy Volunteer - Lifeline Association Malaysia
  • 2017 - 2018: Professional Learning Assistant - SOLS Health
  • 2017 - 2018: Research assistant - International Medical University
  • 2017 - 2017: Training facilitator - Peer Support Club, International Medical University
  • 2017 - 2017: Intern - All Women's Action Society
  • 2016 - 2016: Intern - Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association
Invited Speaker
  • 2023: Insights from working with LGBTQ communities in Malaysia (SAIGE 2023 Virtual Conference, US)
  • 2022: Counselling and therapy with LGBTQ clients (Guest lecture, Monash University, Malaysia)
  • 2021: Mental Health and Well-being (PT Foundation)
            Mental Health and LGBTQ Stigma in Asian Society (Taylor University’s Rotaract Club)
  • 2020: The Problem with Sleep Through the Pandemic (IMU Alumni)
Publications
  1. Liow, J. W., Chong, J. W., & Ting, R. S. K. (2023). Constructing gay male identity in a multicultural society: A qualitative grounded theory study in Malaysia. Sexuality & Culture, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10074-2 
  2. Fazli Khalaf, Z., Liow, J. W., Nalliah, S., & Foong, A. L. S. (2022). When health intersects with gender and sexual diversity: Medical students’ attitudes towards LGBTQ patients. Journal of Homosexuality, Latest Articles. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2022.2042662 
  3. Foong, A. L. S., Liow, J. W., Nalliah, S., Low, W. Y., Samy, A. L., & Fazli Khalaf, Z. (2020). Attitudes of future doctors towards LGBT patients in conservative Malaysian society. Sexuality & Culture, 24(5), 1358-1375. doi: 10.1007/s12119-019-09685-5
  4. Fazli Khalaf, Z., Liow, J. W., Low, W. Y., Ghorbani, B. & Merghati-Khoei, E. (2018). Young women’s sexuality: a battle of pleasure and sexual purity in the context of a developing sexuality. Sexuality & Culture, 22(3), 849-864. doi: 10.1007/s12119-018-9496-4
  5. Liow, J. W., Fazli Khalaf, Z., Nur Amanina, M. A., & Foong, A. L. S. (2017). The experience of intimate relationships among homosexual men in Malaysia. Sexuality & Culture, 21(4), 1140-1156. doi: 10.1007/s12119-017-9442-x
Professional Membership
  1. Malaysia Board of Counsellor (Registered and Licensed Counsellor, KB09508, PA09132)
  2. Viktor Frankl Institute Australia (Full member)
  3. Malaysian Marriage and Family Therapy Association (Associate Member, #092)
  4. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (Professional Member, #ID255799)
  5. Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association (Full Member, #M2101)
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