Monash launches new clinical psychology and counselling centre
From left to right: Dr Shawn Lee Ji Kwan, Professor Stephen Boyle, and Associate Professor James Courtney.
The Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Department of Psychology has officially launched the Monash Fledge Clinical Psychology and Counselling Centre, marking an important step in the university’s efforts to strengthen clinical psychology and counselling training.
The official launch began with a welcoming address by Professor Stephen Boyle (Vice President (Education), Monash University Malaysia), who highlighted the university’s commitment to providing students with meaningful educational experiences that prepare them for work in clinical settings. He said the centre reflects the university’s broader role as an educational, research, and practical institution that contributes to society. “We’re committed to providing the educational experience for our students, so that they can build up the skills that they need when they go out to work in clinical settings,” he said.
The welcoming address by Professor Stephen Boyle.
Following the welcoming address, Associate Professor James Courtney (Interim Head of Department, Psychology), spoke about the centre’s vision and future direction. He acknowledged the early work that shaped the centre’s development and noted that while university-based training clinics are common, Fledge has the opportunity to go beyond a limited student-focused model by integrating counselling, clinical psychology, education and research. “The Fledge Centre is a clinical psychology and counselling centre. Straight away, the scope has been expanded where you’re integrating counselling services with clinical psychology,” he said.
Associate Professor James Courtney, during his speech.
The centre will play a key role in supporting the Master of Professional Counselling and Master of Clinical Psychology programs by providing a supervised training platform for students. Looking ahead, the centre also aims to explore micro-credentialing programs in specialised areas such as pain, sleep, trauma and addiction.
Dr Shawn Lee Ji Kwan (Director of Clinical Practice and Engagement) then introduced the centre and its services, outlining the journey and acknowledging the many individuals and teams who contributed to its development. He shared that the centre builds on existing counselling services while expanding its scope to include clinical psychology.
The new space includes three child play therapy rooms, three assessment rooms and two supervision rooms. These are supported by the existing Fledge Consultation Suites in the old wing, which comprise eight consultation rooms and one group counselling room. Together, these facilities strengthen the centre’s capacity to support student training, supervised clinical practice and community-facing services.
He also highlighted the importance of collaboration with external advisors and healthcare partners, as they will help support the centre’s work in areas such as pain management, hospital collaboration and research development.
Dr Shawn Lee Ji Kwan introducing the centre to the attendees.
The launch concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a guided tour of the centre, giving guests the opportunity to view the facilities and learn more about how the centre will provide support to those in need.
As part of the event, attendees were also invited to visit a flower bar, where they could select three stalks of flowers and write their names on personalised cards as a small gesture of care for themselves. The completed bouquets were then prepared for collection within 15 to 30 minutes, adding a warm and personal touch to the launch.
An exclusive and personalised flower bar for attendees of the event.
Through its focus on clinical practice and education, the Monash Fledge Clinical Psychology and Counselling Centre aims to contribute to Malaysia’s mental health landscape by training future psychologists and counsellors, expanding access to mental health services, and building stronger links between academia and healthcare providers.
A few of the child play therapy rooms at the centre.