PSYCHOLOGIST · EDUCATOR · LEARNING DESIGNER

Life's transitions bring anxiety. You don't have to navigate them alone.

I'm Irna Silawaty, M.Psi., Psikolog, a psychologist helping young people and the families who love them, with evidence-based methods and international training. Available in Bahasa Indonesia or English, wherever you are.

Counselling

One-to-one sessions for young people struggling with stress and anxiety. Using CBT and ACT as primary approaches, we work together to understand what drives them, build skills to manage it, and move toward a life aligned with your values. Parents seeking guidance on supporting their child through these seasons are also welcome.

Ages 15–25 · Online, with onsite arrangements available
Bahasa Indonesia or English

Book a session → lynk.id/irnasilawaty

Speaking & Training

Seminars and workshops on youth mental health, grief and loss, self-regulation, career planning, supportive parenting, and counselling skills for students, parents, educators, counsellors, psychologists, and communities.

Onsite and online · Bahasa Indonesia or English

Consulting

Program development for youth-related organizations, from initial needs analysis to facilitator-ready materials and training of trainers. Familiarity with instructional design principles and ADDIE framework with Kirkpatrick-informed evaluation.

Bahasa Indonesia or English

I know what it feels like to grow up anxious. As a teenager, I carried worries I couldn't name and questions I didn't know how to ask. What I needed then, but didn't have, was someone who understood and helped me navigate what I was feeling. That experience is what led me to pursue psychology and build my practice.

Since 2010, I have worked within the education system to support young people and their families. I know young people's world from the inside: the academic pressure, the ups and downs of friendships, the uncertainty of not knowing who they are or where they are headed, and the helplessness parents feel watching their child struggle from a distance. I help them grow through all of it and toward self-acceptance, purpose, and resilience. Together, we do the quiet work of helping them bloom where they are planted.

At the end of my university training, long before online mental health support was familiar in Indonesia, a friend and I started Sepulang Sekolah. It was a Facebook group where teenagers could safely ask the questions they didn't know how to bring to anyone else. It was the beginning of understanding what young people actually need, and how to reach them where they are.

When the pandemic hit, that experience prepared me for volunteering with SEJIWA, a national psychological first aid hotline launched by the Indonesian government. I honed my online counselling skills through encounters with Indonesians in crisis, at one of the most anxious moments in recent memory.

I also came to understand that young people need more than someone to talk to — they need community, skills, and spaces to grow into who they are becoming. In 2020, a friend and I co-founded BLOOM, channeling that understanding into content, seminars, and workshops for young Indonesians. Looking ahead, I hope to build a group therapy practice. While this modality is still rare in Indonesia, I believe it holds real promise as a more accessible, powerful form of mental health support for young people.

I have developed programs for schools and organisations working with young people, and delivered 60+ seminars and workshops to audiences as diverse as students, parents, educators, helping professionals, and international communities.

Education

  • Master of Education Management · INTI International University, Malaysia · 2025–2026 Full Scholarship · Graduated cum laude
  • Master of Psychology (M.Psi.) & Psychologist · Educational Psychology · University of Indonesia · 2008–2010 UI-Sasakawa Scholarship · Graduated cum laude
  • Bachelor of Psychology (S.Psi.) · University of Indonesia · 2003–2007 Graduated cum laude

Licensure & Certification

  • Licensed Psychologist · Himpunan Psikologi Indonesia (HIMPSI) · Valid until 21 September 2026 SIPP No. 20100499-2019-02-0772 · Verify at himpsi.or.id →
  • Certified School Psychologist (Psikolog Sekolah) · Badan Nasional Sertifikasi Profesi (BNSP) · 2022–2025
  • Certified Distance Learning Facilitation (Metodologi Pelatihan: Pelaksanaan Pelatihan Jarak Jauh) · Badan Nasional Sertifikasi Profesi (BNSP) · 2021–2024
  • THE Accredited Counsellor · Times Higher Education & Common Purpose

Selected training and professional work.

Training

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) — Primary & Advanced CertificateCBT Australia · Dr. Monica O'Kelly & Dr. Dom DiMattia
  • Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) — Primary & Advanced CertificateAustralian Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy · Dr. Monica O'Kelly & Dr. Dom DiMattia · Accredited by the Albert Ellis Institute, New York
  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)Psychwire · Dr. Russ Harris
  • Introduction to Group Therapy (4 weeks) & Training Process Group (40 weeks)The Sacramento Center for Psychotherapy · Haim Weinberg, Ph.D., CGP
  • Mindfulness Based Wellbeing in a CrisisMindWell Education · Amy Burke & Kevin Hawkins
  • Mindfulness for StressBreathworks · Fidelma Farley
  • AFS Global CompetenceAFS Intercultural Programs & Massey University

Professional work

  • Psychological First Aid (PFA) Training FacilitatorHimpunan Psikologi Indonesia (HIMPSI)
  • Assessment Specialist, AS & A Level PsychologyCambridge Assessment International Education
  • Module Developer & Training of Trainers FacilitatorSTARLET Life-Skills Project · Wahana Visi Indonesia (World Vision Indonesia)
  • Parenting Seminar Speaker — "Good Parenting"Church World Service (CWS) Indonesia · 28 & 30 June 2023
  • Workshop Facilitator — "Komunikasi yang Efektif untuk Guru" (Effective Communication for Teachers)Sekolah Lemuel · 16 December 2024 & 25 April 2026

Co-Founder · 2020–present

BLOOM

Vision
A community that helps youth bloom where they are planted.

Missions

  • Promote mental health.
  • Facilitate self-acceptance and change.
  • Equip youth with skills for purpose and resilience.
Follow BLOOM on Instagram @bloomforyouth.id →

Publication

Silawaty, I. (2021). Mengembangkan kebijaksanaan remaja di masa pandemi [Developing adolescent wisdom during the pandemic]. In R. Sahrani, M. Mawarpury, H. Nisa, & Afriani (Eds.), Tinjauan pandemi COVID-19 dalam psikologi perkembangan [COVID-19 pandemic review in developmental psychology] (pp. 168–194). Syiah Kuala University Press.

Research

Efektivitas Penggunaan Strategy-Attribution Retraining dalam Meningkatkan Motivasi Belajar Siswa SMA yang Menunjukkan Sindrom Gagal (The Effectiveness of Strategy-Attribution Retraining in Enhancing the Motivation of High-School Students with Failure Syndrome) · Master's thesis, University of Indonesia
The Social Architecture of a School: A Case Study of Social Capital and Collective Well-Being in an Indonesian Secondary School · Graduate final project, INTI International University

The next season can be a growing one.

For inquiries, write to me — I'll respond personally.

Email me