Hi everyone! I graduated from Michigan State University (USA) with a bachelor's in social science (major in psychology). I have been working in the field of special education and education for about 5 years now. I work with children with autism spectrum disorder, global developmental delay as well as children with difficulties in managing their emotions/behaviors. I am passionate about developmental disabilities and mental illness among young children and adolescents. I decided to go to a graduate school to equip myself with extensive knowledge and training in clinical psychology. I started applying for Clinical Psychology programs last year and I have successfully gotten an offer in February 2017 from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (Chicago's campus).


Why PsyD in Clinical Psychology?
You can visit my YouCaring Crowd Fund page for detailed information.

In short, my primary goal is to reduce the stigma of mental illness & developmental disabilities (such as autism spectrum disorder, GDD and ADHD) in the society and to educate the public to provide appropriate support for individuals who struggle with mental illness & developmental disabilities. I also aim to conduct research and study to develop and implement effective interventions for individuals who have challenges in managing their mental health & developmental disabilities. I'm also aware that healthcare cost is rising globally, so my another goal is to serve the underserved community to ensure they receive support/treatment that they need.


Why crowd fund?
To obtain my I-20 form and VISA application, I would need to show financial evidence for the first 12 months. That is USD$50,000 in total, which is about RM220,000.

Due to the fact that my father has retired and my mom is a homemaker, coupled with the fact that educators generally do not get paid as well as other professions such as accountants, engineers, and doctors (I believe it's a global issue), I still have trouble funding for my graduate study even though I am already working three jobs currently. It is also disheartening to see that social science (especially psychology) is not listed as the desired program in many scholarships/grants.

However, I managed to obtain a grant (International Student Grant) of USD$13,500 from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Half of this grant (USD$6,750) is counted towards my financial evidence for the first 12 months. Along with my savings, I managed to cover about USD$20,000. Therefore, I am trying to crowd fund USD$30,000 (about RM130,000) instead of USD$50,000.

Besides this, I am still looking for other funding options such as assistantships, fellowships, loans, and grants. I also intend to secure assistantship at Chicago if I manage to make it there.


If you believe in my goals to reduce the stigma of mental health, continuous research to develop/implement effective interventions for mental illness and developmental disabilities, as well as serving the underserved community, please donate (even RM5/USD$1 matters a lot) and share my YouCaring Crowd Fund page in any possible way to achieve this goal together!


How to donate?
There are three ways to donate.

1. If you're from Malaysia, you can donate directly to my Malaysia's bank account. Below are my bank account details.

Bank name: Maybank
Bank account number: 112223266865
E-mail address: weilingliam@gmail.com

2. If you're from other countries, there are two ways to donate.

a. You can donate by clicking on the "donate" button on this page. But you would need to have a PayPal account.
b. You can donate via https://transferwise.com/ (it's free of charge for first time transfer). Please sign up and follow the steps after that.




This post has been edited by Zoe: May 7 2017, 02:28 PM

1 in 3 Malaysians is struggling with mental health conditions. & that was in 2016. (refer: https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/176013/...l-health-issues)

The number will only keep rising and most likely, depression will become the leading mental health condition, even in Malaysia. (refer: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017...their-lifetime/)

But we don't have enough of Clinical Psychologist (practitioners) in Malaysia to serve the populations.

I just attended Malaysian International Psychology Conference 2017 this weekend. I gathered that if you seek for help in public hospitals, you will be in the waiting list for a long time. You also have to wait for about 3-4 months for the next visit.

Please help to donate to support my journey to be able to serve the underserved community and continue to raise awareness about mental health in Malaysia.


https://www.youcaring.com/weilingliam-802375


Thank you all in advance!

This post has been edited by Zoe: May 14 2017, 11:16 PM