Meet the Team
Our journey was long in the making. Since 2014, our directors have been collaborating as a diverse team of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and counsellors to promote family therapy in Malaysia – culminating in the setting up of the Andolfi Family Therapy Centre in 2021. Here's a quick introduction to the team.
Honorary Consultant
Prof. Maurizio Andolfi
Maurizio Andolfi, is a family therapist who initially trained as a child psychiatrist. He lived in New York City in the early 70’s where he worked extensively in the South Bronx, and later in South Philadelphia with disadvantaged families.
During his time in the USA, Andolfi studied with Salvador Minuchin, Jay Haley, as well as Carl Whitaker in the following years.
Dr. Andolfi is Professor of Psychology at La Sapienza (University of Rome), Director of the Accademia di Psicoterapia Familiare in Rome Italy and his international branch the Family Therapy Academy. Editor-in-Chief of the Italian family therapy journal: Terapia Familiare.
In 1999 he was the winner of an American Association of Marital & Family Therapy award for Special Contribution to Marital and Family Therapy. He has also received a life achievement award from the American family therapy association. He's the Co-Founder of the European Family Therapy Association and the past-President of the Italian Family Therapy Society. He contributes to the Andolfi Family Therapy Centre by providing training and supervision.
Academic & Clinical Team
Darrel Lourdes
K.B.; P.A.
Darrel Lourdes is the Managing Director of the Andolfi Family Therapy Centre. He holds a Master’s in Counselling from HELP University (Malaysia), a Graduate Diploma in Multigenerational Family Therapy from the Family Therapy Academy (Italy), and a Certificate in Family Therapy from the Delta Clinic (Australia). Since 2020, Darrel has been under the clinical supervision of renowned master family therapist Professor Maurizio Andolfi. In addition to his clinical work, Darrel has been teaching family therapy to psychiatric interns at Universiti Putra Malaysia through live consultations since 2023.
Before transitioning into counselling, Darrel had an extensive 20-year career in Human Resources with global roles at Intel and Shell. He lived and worked in the Netherlands and Hong Kong for eight years, and held short-term assignments in the United States, China, Costa Rica, and the Philippines. He was the Human Resource Director at Shell Malaysia prior to pursuing his passion in Family Therapy.
Bawany Chinapan
Bawany is a passionate educator on issues of couple and family functioning, and she's a trained family therapist with ongoing clinical supervision with an internationally renowned master family therapist, Professor Maurizio Andolfi from Italy. She is a certified Multi generational Family Therapist under the Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia in Rome.
To spread the knowledge, Bawany has been teaching marital and family therapy in a local university's master’s programme and has conducted talks and training in Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. She has a plethora of qualifications in different modalities of counselling and psychotherapy. And helps people to deal with mental health challenges including stress and trauma.
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Apart from being academic team, Bawany also provides counselling services in Andolfi Family Therapy Centre.
K.B.; P.A.
Dato Dr. Lai Fong Hwa
Dato' Dr Lai is a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist who has been practising medicine for 34 years and uses a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care. He graduated in medicine (1987) and psychiatry (1994) from University Malaya and trained in child & adolescent psychiatry in Oxford, UK from 2001 – 2002. He is also a psychotherapist who qualified in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Academy of Cognitive Therapy USA) in 2009 and Family Therapy (Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia, Rome) in 2018.
While serving in Hospital Pulau Pinang from 1994 to 2019, Dato’ Dr Lai established smart partnerships with NGOs to expand Penang's mental health and special education services. After UNICEF-sponsored trauma response training in 2007, Dr Lai established a trauma response team in Penang.
After retiring from government service, Dato’ Dr Lai consults part-time at two private hospitals in Penang. He also conducts psychotherapy at a private centre. Dato’ Dr Lai conducts family therapy training.
Loh Sit Fong
Loh Sit Fong is a Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience in mental health. She is a certified Multi generational Family Therapist under the Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia in Rome. She also completed a Certificate in Satir Systemic Brief Therapy, integrating both approaches in her work with individuals, couples, and families across generations. She earned her Master of Clinical Psychology from UKM and has worked extensively in both public and private sectors.
Sit Fong brings a systemic lens to her clinical and teaching practice, shaped further by ongoing advanced training and supervision under Professor Maurizio Andolfi. She has also contributed to humanitarian aid and crisis intervention through NGOs such as Mercy Malaysia and the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO). Fluent in English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, and conversant in Japanese, she offers a culturally responsive approach to care. Sit Fong is passionate about helping others navigate life transitions with clarity, connection, and resilience
Our Therapists
Cheryl Chin Yi Fen
K.B.; P.A.
Cheryl is appointed as the Project Director of the Andolfi Family Therapy Centre. A licensed counsellor and certified clinical supervisor, she is one of only nine therapists in Malaysia to complete the Advanced Course in Multigenerational Family Therapy (Italy) under Prof. Dr. Maurizio Andolfi.
Despite her younger age, Cheryl has worked with individuals, couples, and families since 2016, earning trust through her clinical competence, maturity, and cultural sensitivity. She works with families facing relationship challenges, depression and anxiety, grief and loss, infidelity and betrayal, separation and divorce, and difficulties involving young or adult children. Cheryl also helps clients address childhood trauma and conflictual or estranged relationships in personal or work life, supporting them to rebuild confidence, trust and connection. She guides clients in understanding how current symptoms may be rooted in deeper, unresolved emotional or relational patterns.
With a Master’s in Counselling, certification in Family Therapy (Australia), and advanced EFT training under Dr. Leslie Greenberg, Cheryl combines emotional depth with systemic insight. She also provides clinical supervision to students and professionals.
Sarah Zehan
As a clinical psychologist, Sarah provides assessments and psychotherapy for individuals who are going through mental health related difficulties like depression, anxiety, and stress. She also works with individuals who are going through relationship and attachment-related issues.
In working with children and adolescents, Sarah provides assessments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Sharmilla Bt Abdullah
K.B.; P.A.
Sharmilla is a registered and licensed counselor who works with individuals, couples, and families. She holds a Master of Counseling ( Malaysia ), a Post Graduate Diploma from the Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia (Italy) & has undergone advanced supervision under Master Family Therapist Professor Dr. Maurizio Andolfi.
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As a certified Multi-Generational Family Therapist—an accreditation held by only a select group of therapists worldwide— she helps clients gain insight into the generational patterns & systemic connections that contribute to their current challenges.
With almost a decade of corporate experience in the banking industry, Sharmilla offers a grounded and informed approach to counseling that connects meaningfully with clients across diverse backgrounds. She is fluent in English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Tamil.
Minnie Chang
K.B.; P.A.
Minnie holds a Masters in Counselling from HELP University and a Graduate Certificate of Family Therapy from the Andolfi Family Therapy Center. When working with clients, she tends to utilize the systemic-focused approach to guide clients in sessions. Minnie has worked with individuals, couples and families. Some of which includes individuals with experience of trauma, loss, addiction, relationship concerns and work-related concerns as well with children with learning needs in schools.
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Minnie believes that each person is the expert of their own life and needs a space to feel safe when exploring their own past or experiences of life. She is committed to help clients find effective ways to manage life transitions by being the empathetic helper to journey alongside clients, empowering and holding space in the course of this journey.
Rachael D'Rozario
K.B.; P.A.
Rachael, a biotechnologist turned youth worker, is a registered and licensed mental health counsellor. She holds a Masters in Counselling from HELP University and completed her Graduate Certification of Family Therapy at Andolfi Family Therapy Center.
Rachael provides counseling for individuals and families; believes in creating a calming and nurturing space for clients to explore their journey. She has worked with clients from various social economic backgrounds in the area of anxiety, depression, grief and loss, navigating difficult life transitions, managing stress, career exploration and broken relationships in the family using a person-centered approach and the multi-generational family systems lens.
Rachael is passionate about accompanying people on their journey through life and makes therapy sessions feel supportive and uplifting with the intention that it helps clients feel held while working through their challenges.
Special Consultant & Advisor
David Hong
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David Hong acts a consultant and the lead trainer of the Graduate Certification Program organized by Andolfi Family Therapy Centre. He is a practising family & couples therapist in Australia with over 30 years of clinical experience; he works with children and adolescents with serious emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues along with their families. David has a special interest in working with ADHD and family systems, and also school refusal and school systems.
David launched the inaugural Graduate Certificate of Family Therapy programme in 2015. Since then, he has been supervising his students to support their ongoing clinical development.
Always a student, since 2005, David has been undergoing advanced training and supervision under the guidance of Professor Andolfi, a master family therapist and trained child psychiatrist. He has attended the Intensive Experiential Clinical Practicum and “The use of self of the therapist” at the prestigious Accademia di Psicoterapia Familiare in Rome, Italy. In 2016, David was invited to attend the Supa-meta Practicum in Todi, Umbria, Italy with 18 family therapists from around the world. And since January 2020 he has been part of the European Family Therapist supervision group conducted by Professor Andolfi. He is a certified Multi generational Family Therapist under the Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia in Rome.
David no longer sees clients for therapy in Malaysia. He only acts as a consultant, supervisor and teacher to aspiring family therapists.
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Datin Indranee Liew
Datin Indranee has 31 years of teaching experience in Malaysia & England. Her experience teaching in England developed into a passion for training teachers in positive teaching strategies and classroom behaviour management. She works with children and adolescents in school settings to develop learning skills and emotional regulation.
A HRDF Certified trainer, Indranee consults to schools on the UK curriculum (IGCSE) and teacher development. Indranee has presented 21 papers at conferences and is also very active in community work pertaining to mental health and education. She sits on the Penang Education Council and Wawasan Open University (Penang) research ethics board. Indranee also acts as an English speaking examiner for a renowned UK university.
