With close to 20 years of experience in adult, child/adolescent and alcohol/drug mental health settings, Shawn has worked in many public and private contexts in both Singapore and Australia. As an Australian-registered (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) Clinical Psychologist, he has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of an array of psychological issues, and provides clinical supervision to counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists in various contexts.  He received his specialised training whilst residing in Perth, Western Australia, and was active in the activities of the Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy of Western Australia and the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Inc. Western Australia. 

Shawn's specialist areas encompass Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Adult Psychotherapy, and Drug and Alcohol Dependence treatment.  In his years based in Singapore, he has remarkable experience in the adult field, ranging from Depressive/ Anxiety/ Anger/ Trauma issues to the assessment and treatment of Developmental Trauma/ Neglect, Personality Disorders, Adult Sex Offenders, and Psychotic states. Shawn works both in long-term psychotherapy and in a short-term focused way.

Shawn’s therapy style is known for being gentle and warm, whilst supporting his clients develop insights into their difficulties. He believes that we are all subject to our conscious and unconscious impulses, and assists his clients to identify and understand their unhealthy patterns of behaviours in the context of their lives. Clients often find Shawn’s perceptive comments thought-provoking with the objective of developing the capacity to reflect on one’s own inner experience, in relation to others. A keen advocate for developmentally appropriate and attachment-focused parenting, Shawn is a registered Circle of Security (COS) Parenting Facilitator with Circle of Security International.

He spent the earlier years of his career at the Institute of Mental Health/ Woodbridge Hospital (IMH) in Singapore, practising as a Senior Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor at the Psychology Department. After leaving public healthcare, he was invited to return as a Visiting Clinical Psychologist in 2019 at the IMH Psychotherapy Service, where he completed his visitorship as a locum Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Psychodynamic Supervisor for psychiatry residents.

His areas of interest lie in the capacity for attachment over the life span, Infant Mental Health, Developmental Psychopathology, and the practice of psychodynamic (or psychoanalytic) psychotherapy. In 2018, he formed the Psychoanalytic Association of Singapore (PAS).

Apart from providing clinical supervision, Shawn has guest-lectured and taught at several government and private institutions in Singapore and Australia. His aptitude for teaching and nurturing others was developed since his formative years as a leadership and team-building trainer.