My journey as a counsellor has been wonderful. I was a practical counsellor with Kajang Female Prison before joining UTAR as a student counsellor. The experiences I gained from conducting counselling sessions have been worthwhile. Counselling helps me to understand others, their life, experiences and problems. In my opinion, the biggest challenge in counselling is to deal with people from different backgrounds and life stories.

I often ask myself why I wanted to be a counsellor. My family and friends did not expect that I would choose counselling as a profession. Few years ago, the thought of becoming a counsellor never crossed my mind, as I had no interest in counselling subjects while studying for my degree in Psychology. The process of conducting a proper counselling session combined with relevant theories and skills did not come easy to me.

After graduated, I had no idea where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do for the future. My father supported me and hoped that I would continue to pursue postgraduate studies. I did background search on a few Master?s programmes and concluded that counselling suits me best as I am more of a practical person. I challenged myself to take up counselling but never expected that I would be successfully enrolled in the programme.

            Through counselling, I learnt and experienced many things that my degree studies never taught me. I learned to be active and to stay focused while communicating with people. I started to love counselling more than before. It is hard, no doubt, but it gives me pleasure to be able to help others by being there for them and listening to their plight. Every counselling experience gave me insights into why it is important to stay optimistic in life. I believe that more people require support and there are many challenges and experiences waiting for us to discover.

5th from left is Chin Yee on her work activity

2nd from right is Chin Yee

4th from right of middle row is Chin Yee

Chin Yee is 1st from right of second row

Chin Yee went for a study trip

Chin Yee is second from the right