Maloney 'Mel' Liu

Many of us grew up before people talked much about mental, emotional and relational fitness (in some cultures, it’s still not talked about). We’ve had caregivers and authority figures with their own unhealed wounds, limiting their ability to support our development and model healthy life skills. Add in societal norms that overvalue intellectual and economic achievements, various forms of systemic and culturally sanctioned oppression, lack of awareness of neurodiversity … Is it any wonder that many of us are left with a kind of psychological malnutrition, some wonky beliefs, and a lot of shame and guilt and mean voices in our head? Many of us grew up before people talked much about mental, emotional and relational fitness (in some cultures, it’s still not talked about). We’ve had caregivers and authority figures with their own unhealed wounds, limiting their ability to support our development and model healthy life skills. Add in societal norms that overvalue intellectual and economic achievements, various forms of systemic and culturally sanctioned oppression, lack of awareness of neurodiversity … Is it any wonder that many of us are left with a kind of psychological malnutrition, some wonky beliefs, and a lot of shame and guilt and mean voices in our head? I’m Mel, an English-Chinese bilingual therapist and coach with a trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+-affirming (including asexuality) and neuro-affirming practice. It’s never too late to reap the benefits of a consistently safe, growth-fostering environment, address unmet psychological needs, and develop the core human skills we all need to thrive. We can review and edit the stories you tell yourself and distinguish between values you inherited and values that are truly yours. We can work with the brain you’ve got, not against it. We can break generational cycles and survival strategies that have outlived their usefulness and build a better future. Where would you like to start?

Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Level 7), Advanced Certificate in Life Coaching (Level 4)

I specialise in complex relational trauma, usually developmental and generational. You may have endured relationships or environments that are chaotic, high-demand, high-control, or emotionally inhibited. You may recognise yourself in terms like ‘adult children of emotionally immature parents’ and ‘childhood emotional neglect’. You may be suffering from chronic depression or anxiety, self-doubt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulty identifying and regulating your emotions, intimacy issues, a sense of worth that’s dependent on your productivity, etc.

Complex trauma is multi-faceted; healing will be too.

My approach is pluralistic: a collaborative, integrative perspective deeply rooted in humanistic and person-centred values. We’ll discuss what you want from therapy, and together we’ll decide how to get there, knowing that we’ve got many modalities to draw upon and that I’ll meet you where you are.

Trained in Hong Kong and London, bilingual in English and in Chinese, I bring a multicultural, systemic perspective to my work, informed also by my multidisciplinary education, professional experience in the tech and creative industries, and lived experience of complex trauma and recovery.

Our work together can address psychological wounds on cognitive, emotional, behavioural and somatic levels, while recognising cultural and structural factors at play as well. I also understand the overlap between trauma and autism and ADHD and know a lot about cults, high-control groups/relationships, coercive control, and narcissistic abuse. I continue to read widely in the humanities.

My clients appreciate my sturdiness, playfulness, and psychoeducation with relatable (and sometimes funny!) analogies. Therapy can be more enjoyable than you may think. We’re here to reclaim joy and play too.