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About Cheryl Chin Yi Fen
Cheryl Chin is a Chinese Malaysian counsellor and psychotherapist, fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hakka. Her work is grounded in a simple but profound belief — that every person and every relationship deserves to be truly heard, deeply understood, and treated with care.
Growing up in a conservative Chinese family, Cheryl saw how emotions were often overlooked. Academic performance took centre stage, while struggles were carried in silence. She remembers watching her parents shoulder their burdens quietly, never speaking of them, and learning to do the same. No one ever asked, “How are you?” in a way that invited an honest answer. That question, asked with genuine presence, can be life-changing.
Cheryl chose this profession so she could be that person for others — someone who will sit with them, hold space for their feelings without judgment, and walk alongside them as they make sense of their experiences.
From the individual to the whole system
In her first five years of practice, Cheryl focused on being present for one person at a time — helping them strengthen their emotional health and reclaim a sense of self. Over time, she discovered a deeper truth: while individuals can heal within the safety of therapy, emotional well-being often flourishes most when their significant others — partners, parents, children — also learn to be that safe presence for each other. She often wishes she had discovered systemic work earlier. In moments when couples, parents, and families begin to understand themselves — and are willing to transform how they interact with one another — something extraordinary unfolds. They start to attune to each other’s pain and needs, responding with kindness, gentleness, respect, and care. These are moments of relational healing that cannot be achieved in individual sessions alone.
Her belief about people and relationships
Cheryl believes that emotional and relational health go hand in hand. Every person carries a unique story, even those raised in the same family. Our joys, pain, and losses shape not only who we are but also how we connect. She sees these stories as worthy of being heard in a space of safety, acceptance, and respect — a space where people can both find themselves and find each other again. With the right support, she has seen individuals move from feeling stuck and hopeless to finding clarity and resilience, and families move from disconnection to genuine closeness — where love, trust, and care are not just spoken but lived.
Her journey in the field
Since 2015, Cheryl has served in universities, non-profit organisations, corporate settings, private clinics, and hospitals. She has worked with diverse communities — including expatriates, Malaysians from various backgrounds, and refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Palestine, Myanmar, Iran, and Syria who have survived extreme torture and war. These experiences have strengthened her cultural sensitivity and deep respect for the resilience of those she serves. As a team leader, Cheryl has collaborated closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Malaysia and professionals from multiple disciplines — including social workers, legal advisors, doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists — to deliver holistic, systemic interventions. She has also initiated corporate mental health programmes, integrating systemic approaches to safeguard employee well-being.
Committed to the principle of do no harm and continuous growth, Cheryl has undergone extensive training and supervision in areas such as complex trauma, severe mood disturbances, grief and loss, family and couples therapy, behavioural challenges, suicidal and homicidal risk, and sexual and gender-based violence. She primarily works from Emotion Focused Therapy and Multigenerational Family Therapy frameworks, integrating other modalities where needed.
For Cheryl, the most moving moments are when emotional and relational health are restored — when individuals regain the ability to live with hope, families learn to truly hold one another, and couples rediscover how to love in ways that endure. These are the steps she treasures most in the journey of healing.
