Psychology Team
The GCFC currently consists of the following highly skilled and experienced Psychologists.
Regina Foong
Psychologist
Regina is a registered clinical psychologist and has worked in private practice, schools, hospitals and forensic settings. She is proficient in treating anxiety, depression, phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and trauma in children. She has worked as a school counsellor previously and continues to work with children in private practice hence she is experienced in conducting psychological assessments for learning difficulties and behavioural problems in children.
Regina has worked with children presenting with ADHD, autism, anxiety, anger, low self-esteem and other presentations that impair their functioning at school and home. She works closely with the school and families to put in place skills-based strategies to help them leverage their strengths to overcome challenges and improve their quality of life.
Regina has a special interest in working with children suffering from early attachment ruptures and traumatic experiences. She uses evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Densensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) in her treatment.
She collaborates with families to explore and identify the children’s maladaptive patterns of behaviours and coping mechanisms that may be contributed by significant early experiences and rupture in attachment relationships then tap into their strengths and resources to facilitate an empowering and therapeutic process that will help them experience healing so that they can focus on living life in the present and go on to maximise their potential by leveraging on their resources and strengths.
Regina believes strongly in using evidence-based interventions to facilitates changes in the brain’s neural networks so that it brings about an enduring transformation in the individuals’ belief system, emotional patterns and behavioural responses. Early attachment experiences have a significant impact on how children respond to the world around them and these early distressing events continue to impact interpersonal relationships if they remain unresolved in their brain’s neural networks. This may present in the form of heightened physiological responses (fight, flight or freeze mode), emotional dysregulation and maladaptive beliefs of oneself and others triggered by stimuli in the current environment that are associated with past distressing events.
Children use particular coping mechanisms to manage these vulnerable emotions (eg. avoidant, aggressive or withdrawn behaviours). Regina uses evidence-based approaches that include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Densensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Schema Therapy to investigate how these past experiences (prenatal and postnatal) continue to influence the children’s current functioning and facilitate the process of healing from the past experiences so that the cycle is broken and the child is free to respond to their current reality without feeling compelled to repeat their maladaptive behavioural patterns. Regina uses play equipment, music, creative art and movement activities to help children communicate, access and process early distressing memories so that the material is brought to a positive resolution in the brain.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach guided by the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, which posits that trauma or distressing experiences are stored and stuck in the brain’s neural network. The objective of therapy is to use bilateral stimulation to access the distressing or trauma material and assimilate adaptive information and resources to the neural network so that new neural pathways are formed, leading to the development of adaptive behaviours. This improves the child’s ability to utilize their current resources and capability as well as build more positive relationships with others in their support network.
In her leisure time, Regina enjoys spending time with her family by going on nature walks with her children and husband as well as reading up on the latest research on psychological interventions to improve individuals’ quality of life.
Rosemary Andison
Psychologist
Rosemary is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist who has worked in private practice, community services, schools, and hospital settings. Rosemary is passionate about working therapeutically in a way that matches the developmental needs of the child, often making adaptations for language, social-communication, and cognitive delays in the clinic room. She has over ten years of experience working therapeutically with children, including many neurodiverse clients.
Rosemary is skilled in the treatment of mental health concerns in children and adolescents including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive behaviours, and behavioural disorders. Her practice is grounded in evidence-based practice with therapeutic tools taken from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Family Systems theory, Narrative Approaches, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Her work is playful and purposeful, using a thorough assessment process to guide the activities used in session. Rosemary is also goal-oriented, using the goals identified by the child and their family to guide treatment.
Rosemary enjoys working collaboratively with parents and caregivers supporting her child clients. She believes that it is essential to engage a child’s support network in bringing about change. Rosemary ensures that regular time is given to parents and caregivers to discuss their concerns, build skills, problem-solve dilemmas, and outline how to support the development of their child’s skills in real-world settings. Her work with parents is informed by attachment perspectives, developmental perspectives and neuroscience. Rosemary also has experience running parent and community groups on parenting and anxiety in children.
Rosemary is also proficient in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. This includes assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Disability, Developmental Delay, Specific Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Communication Disorders, and Tic Disorders. Rosemary designs assessments around the specific questions brought by families about their child’s functioning, using gold-standard assessment tools for measuring intelligence, early developmental skills, attention, impulsivity, academic skills, adaptive functioning, and behaviour. She integrates assessment data with information from the client’s family, client observations in the clinic setting, and information from third parties including paediatricians, school teachers, and preschool/ daycare teachers. She is a strong believer in spending time with families to understand assessment results and recommendations to support the child or teenager in the future.