Tahoe Youth & Family hires new clinical director

Tahoe Youth & Family Services introduced its new clinical director on Tuesday.

Born and raised in Malaysia, Shalini Malasingam moved to Australia in 2000, where she earned a bachelors of psychology degree from the Australian National University. She then obtained a masters in counseling psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy at Argosy University in Orange County, Calif.

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in both Nevada and California with more than eight years of experience in the mental health field. She has more than six years of experience working in a community mental health setting with a focus on trauma informed care for children, teens, and adults. 

She also has three years of working with couples using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to guide couples in understanding each other and communicating effectively. 

“Creativity is one of my other strong traits having worked as a sound designer/DJ prior to becoming a therapist,” she said. “I would like to combine trauma informed care using expressive arts in a group setting here as I’ve done while working with the youths in south central Los Angeles. I also work as a group fitness instructor and have facilitated groups combining movement to address depressive systems.”

She said that she feels privileged by the trust she has developed with the people she helps.

“Every day I get to wake up and be immersed with human stories, stories of pain, stories of hopelessness, stories of trauma, stories of injustice and stories of love,” she said. “I feel privileged to be the holder of these stories. Humbled by the trust developed and nurtured with the person or family in front of me, so that they have an unbiased, safe, and productive opportunity to process their experiences.”

She said key to trauma work is making clients feel safe in their environment.

“I’ve used art and music in the trauma informed groups that I’ve facilitated in south central Los Angeles where I was working prior to moving to the Valley,” she said. “I’ve also incorporated movement to help children and adolescents navigate through depressive symptoms. I think there’s more than one way of creating a space for people to develop the courage to face their vulnerability, and I’ll meet you where you are at.”

Beginning the first week in March Shalini will be facilitating two groups through Telehealth, a first responders support group and a relationship group for couples or individuals.  For more information, call Tahoe Youth & Family Services at (775)782-4202 or (530)541–2445.