Couples Counselling HK Practice Launched - Maple Tree Counselling Adds Therapy for Couples in Hong Kong

Central, Hong Kong -

Maple Tree Counselling’s Hong Kong-based practice has just announced an expansion of its counselling and therapy practice in the city with additional rooms and therapists.

Maple Tree Counselling works out of several discreet, smart, and tranquil rooms on the 27th floor of Worldwide House, 19 Des Voeux Rd, Central Hong Kong. The newly added practice room has been designed to conduct individual therapy as well as couples’ counselling. Maple Tree has purposefully chosen the furnishings and the colours of the space to be a part of its brand palette as well as to create a sense of calm and comfort for its clients. For more inforamtion visit https://www.mapletreecounselling.com/who-we-help/

“The soft muted colours of the brand-new space are handpicked to put you at ease as you open up to our professional therapists,” says Anjali Nihalchand, Co-Founder & MD at Maple Tree Counselling. “We have used our years of experience in hospitality to craft a space where clients feel comfortable, at ease and safe to share the challenges that they are facing and the anxieties that are holding them back. We have intentionally chosen colour tones of blues and greens mixed with natural earthy colours for our furniture, along with plants to add to the ambiance of calm. The comfortable and welcoming décor is also accentuated with strategically placed warm light sources to make the rooms feel cosy.”

The team at Maple Tree Counselling comprises a diverse, multicultural group of therapists with rich life experiences and international qualifications and accreditations, and who deliver therapy in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Their professional memberships include the Hong Kong Society of Counselling and Psychology, the Psychotherapy Society of Hong Kong, the Australian Counselling Association, the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, the American Counselling Association, the Asian Professional Counselling & Psychology Association and the British Psychological Society.

One of the therapists, Casey McGrath, works with adults experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and relationship issues. She specialises in helping clients navigate major life transitions as well as complicated career and family dynamics. She is passionate about healing past traumas and discovering possibilities for change while working collaboratively with clients using a range of evidence-based techniques. Casey is a mother of three and has lived in Hong Kong since 2012. She previously worked at The Women’s Foundation in Hong Kong and, before that, as an attorney in New York.

Jacquelyn Tryde offers therapy for adults, adolescents, and preteens. She has supported younger clients who have experienced dysfunctional family dynamics, parental separation and divorce, difficulties in acculturation, depression, anxiety, OCD and peer pressure. She has been heavily involved in addiction prevention work with youths and their parents from ethnic minority communities and international schools. Jacquelyn also works with adult clients, specialising in women’s issues, attachment trauma and overcoming limiting beliefs and low self-esteem. Jacquelyn values multicultural sensitivity and has working proficiency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Before her career change, Jacquelyn was an executive trainer with Forbes Travel Guide.

Nicola Shannon works with adults and adolescents struggling with a sense of disconnection, uncertainty and lack of purpose. She works with clients who may be experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship and family difficulties or compulsive and addictive behaviours. Utilising an integrative framework to address both current challenges and past traumas, Nicola aims to help clients identify and overcome the obstacles preventing them from thriving. Previously an early-years educator, Nicola began working with individual clients to help them understand how their unique roles create successes and challenges within the family structure.

Lianne Lim believes that people want the best for themselves, and they have the resources within themselves to make changes. Using a person-centred approach, Lianne supports adults who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, and relationship issues. She also works with couples to manage conflicts arising from parenting, separation and life transitions. Through Lianne’s own journey with child loss and fertility treatments, she also understands her clients’ struggles while trying to grow their families. Originally from Taiwan, Lianne has lived, studied and worked in various countries. She embraces the uniqueness of multinational and multicultural individuals and families. Lianne worked in investment banking for 15 years in New York, Sydney and Hong Kong, before whole-heartedly pursuing her passion for psychology. Lianne counsels in English and Mandarin.

Dickie Mok believes in supporting clients through developing mindfulness and awareness, flexibility, resilience and self-compassion in the pursuit of positive change. He works with clients through life and career transitions and hard decisions, and supports issues relating to anxiety, depression, self-worth and belonging. Dickie also has experience supporting adolescents and young adults in individual and group therapy and acts as a game master for role playing game groups in therapeutic settings. Dickie was born in Canada and raised in Hong Kong and has also lived in the United States and Japan. Prior to counselling, Dickie had a 15-year career in legal practice, university teaching and business.

Brenton Surgenor works with individuals and couples to help them find balance and well-being in their lives. His practice focuses on life transitions, couples’ counselling, anxiety, stress management, and mindfulness. Brenton employs a person-centred approach to help clients develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationships, develop resilience, and create positive change. He creates a supportive, non-judgmental environment and is attuned to the unique needs of LGBTQ+ clients. Specialising in couples’ therapy and couples’ coaching, Brenton draws on the Gottman Method to help couples resolve conflict and build meaningful connections. Originally from New Zealand, Brenton has over two decades of experience in education and academia and has studied and worked all over the world.

Established in 2021, Maple Tree Counselling started in Hong Kong, with the shared vision of several colleagues and friends who wanted to respond to the rising demand for mental health services and with a genuine commitment to helping people. The practice has chosen the maple tree as its symbol because of what it signifies for many cultures: strength, fertility, resilience, tolerance, protection, honour and love. Maple Tree Counselling now operates in Hong Kong and Central Victoria (serving clients from Castlemaine, Kyneton, and Daylesford), as well as in the heart of Melbourne.

Readers interested in learning more about the organisation’s counselling and therapy services can visit the Maple Tree Counselling website at https://www.mapletreecounselling.com/hong-kong/counsellors/