A Note From Founder

“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”

—Steve Jobs

This quote continuously inspires me. And the very reason I first started out being a pioneer in private practice in Malaysia. Back when the only places anyone can get any counselling services were either in churches or religious governmental department, I saw the gaping void in the need for regular individuals could go to for therapy with the confidence in privacy and confidentiality. The very core to the effectiveness of counselling is none other than TRUST. And with the stigma surrounding mental illness, many were too afraid to even admit they needed help, what more to be seen walking into a public counselling centre. 

Having witnessed how publicly ugly my parents's divorce was back in 1978, I wished there was somewhere they could've gone for some form of help for their marital challenges that was also private and confidential. This spurred me to venture into private practice, although the income was very unstable, at best. Needless to say that I wouldn't have been able to do this without the rock solid support from my husband and the understanding from my daughters.

The challenges that came with the private practice were countless. Aside from the general public phobia of being seen as 'crazy' by their loved ones, finding a private location for an office that was also affordable based on unstable income seemed humungous. 

Fast forward two decades and now I have successfully taught and trained an excellent team of counsellors who have joined me in MY Confidential. I have also established a centre that provides licensed counsellors a place for them to see their clients with flexible hours and very reasonable room rates. All this is a part of the cause that I have been championing: to encourage more and more counsellors to venture into private practice without having to cough out a huge amount of investment to set up an office.

Apart from the private practice, MY Confidential members get to volunteer on crisis missions. Our current focus is on the rescuers and first responders of SMART Malaysia. My personal mission is to have MY Confidential as an NGO that is self-funded by the use of the counselling centre.

My promise to the general public is making your privacy our priority.

My promise to licensed counselors who choose to join us is the affordable room rate for a professional and private setting.

Finally, my promise to Malaysia: MY Confidential is making a dent in the universe; one person at a time. 

Welcome to MY Confidential!

Sincerely,

Johana Dato' Johari

Association of Private Counselors (MY Confidential)

In March 2014, Malaysia's MH370 went missing. And that was when I received my true calling. Doctors tend to be at their best when their patients are at their worst. Same goes for counselors. The irony of the pinnacle of my career happening at Malaysia's worst. Malaysia was unprepared for this. Caregivers were not trained for a commercial carrier to vanish into thin air.

MH370. Everly Hotel Emergency Operations Center. 2014.

A few months later, MH17 was shot down. Still reeling with dwindling hope of ever finding our missing aeroplane, I volunteered my time and expertise again. Again, I was at my best. Although caregivers had some experience in dealing with MH370's next of kins, most of the passengers were foreigners and therefore the green zone was in all the countries affected by the event.

These two extraordinary mishaps had shaped and formed me as a counselor. I saw what was lacking and what needed to get done. And I was no longer the same. That is what is often said for those who had survived a storm.

Fast forward to 2019. In the past 5 years, I had expanded my expertise from mere counseling to teaching and to training. Teaching future counselors. Training them to be caregivers. Caregivers. Often, this term is associated with palliative care. But without caregivers, the next of kins of both airplanes would have not had anyone to tend to their sorrow and grief. The caregivers provided support to those who needed them most.

Apart from the caregivers, the first responders such as rescuers were also the unsung heroes. The public only complained and criticised about shortcomings of any missions but little do they realize how important the rescuers are to our wellbeing as a whole. Hence, I begun my most important mission of all: to give care and support to the rescuers.

More often than not, they return from traumatizing missions with no one to tend to their PTSD. Many scored very highly on the PTSD Checklist. Yet, they remain silent for fear of losing their jobs. While the mental health of our common people should be prioritized, we should also have someone championing the mental health of our first responders and rescuers.

MY Confidential (Association of Private Counselors) was established as an NGO on February 22nd, 2019. Our mission is to provide psychological support to our frontliners. We aim to have our members and volunteers to be trained as caregivers as well as being a support system to those whose jobs are to save lives.

Our members consist of registered and licensed counselors in private practice, counseling interns, counseling students, and those who are trained in Crisis Intervention, First Aid and CPR. Our members have attended extensive Air Emergency Exercises organized by Malaysia Airports.

AEREX. KLIA. 2018

AEREX. KLIA. 2018

Members learning First Aid and CPR

We welcome all registered and licensed private counselors to join our squad. We welcome volunteers who are creative in raising funds for our cause. We welcome financial support and funding from individuals and corporations who share our vision for making mental health affordable to everyone. 

For further details, do contact our President Ms Johana Dato' Johari at 018-9136688 or email at johana.myconfidential@gmail.com

Join us in our noble humanitarian mission and may we all be blessed with purposeful lives. Ameen.

Opening Soon: A New Clinic!

We are excited to announce the upcoming opening of our clinic in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, we will only resume sessions with clients by early February. Keep your eyes on this site for more updates.