External Advisor

Bashir Bashardoost is a registered counsellor with LKM, clinical supervisor, and senior lecturer in the Master of Counselling programme at HELP University. His work spans clinical practice, supervision, and the teaching of emerging practitioners, with a focus on supporting reflective counselling practice.

He works primarily with adults in individual psychotherapy and has experience across both private practice and academic settings. His clinical focus includes loss, trauma, and the enduring impact of early relational experience, particularly where these shape a person’s sense of self, relationships, and capacity to live with internal and external change.

Alongside contemporary psychological training, his work is informed by psychoanalytic thinking, developed through ongoing personal analysis, clinical supervision, and engagement in analytic seminars. This informs a way of listening that attends to emotional depth, unconscious meaning, and what is often difficult to articulate directly, allowing a slower unfolding of understanding in the therapeutic process.

Across both therapeutic and educational contexts, he is interested in facilitating spaces where individuals, whether clients or developing practitioners, can develop a clearer sense of themselves and their potential. His work is guided by a commitment to supporting growth, psychological development, and the capacity to think more deeply and reflect on lived experience.

External Advisor

Dr Steven Khaw is a globally recognised professional trainer, keynote speaker, executive coach, and business strategist with over 25 years of industry experience in leadership development, organisational growth, and corporate training. Holding a PhD in Marketing from AACSB-accredited Putra Business School, alongside multiple postgraduate qualifications in law, education, business, and management, he brings a rare combination of academic depth and practical commercial expertise to organisations across the region.

Over the course of his career, Dr Steven has trained more than 100,000 professionals across 13 countries, working with multinational corporations, government agencies, universities, and business leaders in areas such as leadership, emotional intelligence, sales strategy, organisational effectiveness, and business transformation.

His professional recognitions include Professional Trainer of the Year 2022 (UK), Outstanding International Professional Trainer 2023 (Asia), and Educator Leader of the Year 2024. He is also an ATD Master Trainer®, Certified MBTI® Practitioner, Chartered Manager, HRDC-accredited trainer, and part-time faculty member at Putra Business School, contributing to MBA programmes with a blend of academic rigour and real-world insight.

External Advisor

Evone Phoo is a clinical psychologist, educator, and mental health leader whose work spans clinical practice, supervision, academia, and global clinical quality management. She currently serves as Clinical Care Manager at MindFi, overseeing a global network of mental health providers and supporting clinical quality and professional standards across international markets.

Previously, Evone was Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of Department (Psychology) at HELP University, where she taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and provided clinical supervision to trainee psychologists. Her clinical experience includes work in government hospitals, psychiatric settings, private practice, and digital mental health services.

Grounded in existential-humanistic and psychoanalytic traditions, Evone has a particular interest in reflective clinical practice, therapist development, and the therapeutic relationship. Her work focuses on helping individuals navigate questions of meaning, identity, grief, relationships, and psychological growth, while supporting practitioners in developing deeper self-awareness and clinical presence.

External Advisor

Usha Ponnudurai is a licensed counsellor currently practicing at the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences, Education and Languages (Masters Unit) under HELP University as the current Program Chair of the Masters in Counselling program whereby she supervises and lectures counsellors; and also provides mental health counselling clients, focusing on individuals and couples’ counselling.

As the current need for online mental health awareness and counselling is emerging, she is active in providing workshops on how to transition working from home and providing online therapy for those who are not able to cope well. She has had 16 years of experience as a counsellor; 5 of which she helmed as the Deputy Manager at the Centre for Psychological and Counselling Services at HELP University.

She also regularly conducts training sessions for audiences in Malaysian, USA, India, Singapore, Qatar and other countries for various emotional skillsets; and provides consultation services to mental health centres looking to develop mental health-adjacent processes such as constructing Standard Operating Procedures, documentation processes, holistic and multidisciplinary integration systems approach to counselling for individuals, couples and families.