FAQ
Counselling and psychotherapy are both talk therapy. A counsellor provides counselling whereas a clinical psychologist provides psychotherapy.
Counselling
1. For people who need an emotional outlet, facing issues in their daily routine or to boost growth in oneself.
2. Help identify problems and crises and encourages one to take positive stepts to resolve the issues.
3. Encourages behavioural changes.
4. Issues (Example) – Grief, weight management, support, career.
Psychotherapy
1. For people who are facing psychological issues that have accumulated over a long period of time.
2. Assist people with psychological issues to blend into the society.
3. Assist people in understanding emotions, feelings, thoughts and their actions more clearly.
4. Issues (Example) – Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorder, Schizophrenia.
Counselling (Counsellor)
When an individual feels the uneasy change that is uncomfortable but the body and the mind are not aligned. Common issues but not limited to would be:
💁🏻♂️ Stress
💁🏻♂️ Trauma
💁🏻♂️ Grief and Loss
💁🏻♂️ Self-Esteem
💁🏻♂️ Sexuality
💁🏻♂️ Communication
💁🏻♂️ Breakups
Psychotherapy (Clinical Psychologist)
When an individual is having difficulties in dealing with prolonged issues and these issues are bulking up resulting in an individual having difficulties to function in their daily lives and activities. Common issues but not limited to would be:
💁🏻♀️ Eating Disorder
💁🏻♀️ Depression
💁🏻♀️ Anxiety
💁🏻♀️ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
💁🏻♀️ Panic Attack
💁🏻♀️ Personality Disorders
💁🏻♀️ Bipolar Disorder
A counsellor is an individual who had completed his or her degree or masters in counselling. A counsellor must be registered under Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia (LKM) and be licensed by LKM to practice counselling in Malaysia. A counsellor must have both KB (Kaunselor Berdaftar) and PA (Perakuan Amalan) numbers. “Lay counsellors” are equivalent to volunteers as they have only attended workshops and not professional trainings obtained by licensed counsellors. As the term counselling is not fully reserved for counsellors, there might be other professions claiming to be part of mental health industry running “counselling sessions”. As such, it is advisable to always refer to Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia website (
http://www.lembagakaunselor.gov.my/) to check a counsellor’s credibility.
A clinical psychologist is an individual who had completed his or her degree in Psychology followed by a postgraduate study in Clinical Psychology. As the Allied Health Act 2016 is not fully functioning at the moment, clinical psychologists are registered under Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology (MSCP). Clinical psychologists perform psychotherapies, mostly grounded by evidence-based therapies such as but not limited to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and so on. Clinical psychologists run diagnosis and assessments but do not prescribe medication. However, as there is no licensure board in Malaysia at the moment, there are individuals who claimed to be clinical psychologists but prescribe oral substance. As such, please be advised to request for the psychologist’s proof / documentation of membership / credentials if there is doubt of his or her credibility.
Successfully overcoming one challenge does not mean the same for every single challenge faced in life. There might be times when some form of support is needed. By engaging in a session, you are taking responsibility by accepting where you are in life and making commitment to change the situation.
It differs between individuals and range of issues as some might take longer time and some might be shorter. In general, counselling / psychotherapy might take about 4 to 8 sessions; however it might be longer depending on the nature of issues and resources.
Yes, you can. Most psychiatrist only prescribe medications and it is always advisable for clients to see a clinical psychologist concurrently to push the benefits to its maximum. For certain psychopathological issues, the combination of both psychopharmaceutical and psychotherapeutic approaches would shorten the time taken for an individual to learn the necessary coping skills.
Yes, we do. Our counsellor provides online counselling using videoconference system. As our online counselling services are subjected to our counsellor’s approval, please drop us an email at 📨 enquiry@beliveinpsychology.com to know more about this service. You may also check our Online Counselling Policy to understand further.
Our counsellor does not provide 24-hour service. Should the client in need of immediate medical attention, please call emergency hotlines or check in to the nearest emergency department at general hospitals.
Full payment is done prior to the session and the session will end sharp on time and client is required to make a full payment for the session. As such, it is advisable that clients be on time for appointments in respect to the professional relationship. If extension is unavoidable, client will be billed the extension rate.