Meet our Counselors
Melinda Weber, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor from the Great State of Texas, USA . She is the Director of the Counseling Services for Shanghai Community Center. She holds a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling as well as a Master's Degree in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Melinda has 10 years of experience counseling with children, adolescents, couple's counseling, and family therapy.

Melinda has extensive experience in Child Centered Play Therapy working with a wide range of subjects with children such as anxiety, depression, culture shock, trauma, crisis counseling, anger management, dealing with parents' divorce, grief therapy, sibling rivalry, issues of low self- esteem, third culture kid issues, some behavior modification, and building social skills. Along with individual counseling with children, Melinda has experience in facilitating group therapy for elementary school age children.

Melinda also has experience working with couples regarding the strengthening of meaningful and constructive communication between partners, increasing awareness of individual issues and how they affect the relationship, issues of infidelity and building trust, pre-marital counseling, and support for couples with children. Melinda also works with families using systemic family therapy methods. Melinda also has experience working with adults in the following areas: issues of healing for past trauma and abuse, anxiety, depression, culture shock, relationship problems, issues of identity, dealing with your family of origin, and faith-based counseling. Melinda is available at the Pudong Jinqiao Center.
(She will be available after Aug 20.)
Sharon Lui , Sharon Lui, comes from the US, holds a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Bethel Seminary San Diego and has completed certificate courses in PREPARE/ENRICH for marital and pre-marital counseling. Originally from Hong Kong, she is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. She is experienced in working with substance dependence and anxiety. Sharon is available to counsel at the Puxi Hongqiao Center.
(She is available all summer.)
John Tenbusch , LCSW from Chicago, USA, holds a Master's of Social work from Loyola University – Chicago. He has worked many years with adults suffering from severe mental illnesses. At Community Center Shanghai, John is available to assist individuals in dealing with cultural adjustment, anxiety, crisis management, addictions and issues concerning grief and loss. John works at Puxi Hongqiao and Minhang offices.
Marianne Schaeffer Marianne Schaeffer (B.Counseling, Dip. Min.) arrived in Shanghai from New Zealand in 2006. She is married and has survived five teenagers, four boys and one girl; and has one grandchild. Over the years, Marianne has been eclectic in gaining further trainings, including Theophostic and Art Therapy. Marianne has over 20 years of counseling experience, both within secular and church settings. She has gained extensive experience in marital therapy with couples regarding communication, intimacy/sexuality and addiction issues, with a focus on inner healing and personal emotional awareness and growth. Marianne is also available to see children and teenagers struggling with anxiety, depression, acting out behavior and identity problems. She works predominantly at Puxi, and 1 day per week at Pudong Jinqiao Community Center.
(She is available until June 23.)
Julie Maertens from Belgium, holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Leuven University. She is trained in 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Meditation Therapy to cope with anxiety, stress and depression) and has experience with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She worked a couple of years in Belgium, Italy and China with a broad variety of diagnoses in one-to-one sessions as well as in group sessions. Julie is available to assist individuals in dealing with anxiety, depression, stress issues, relationship problems, attachment problems, addiction problems and cultural transition difficulties. She is also available to give workshops in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. She is fluent in Dutch, English, French and has a good understanding of German and Italian. Julie believes that having insight in yourself is already healing in itself. Mindfulness is therefore the most powerful approach she has come across. Julie is available in the Puxi center on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (Honqiao center and People Square Center).
(She will be available after July 13th.)
Laura Cowan is a TCA (Third Culture Adult); born in Canada, growing up mainly in Scotland with a brief 2 year period living in Malta. Laura has lived in Asia for the last 14 years and holds a Masters degree in International Counseling. Laura works for the Shanghai American School as a Middle School Counselor and is available to counsel at the Pudong Jinqiao Center in the evenings.

Laura works equally well with children and adults, and specializes in Anger management, Anxiety, Self-esteem/Self-confidence and Identity issues, Transition challenges, Family counseling and Teenage angst issues. Laura incorporates a variety of counseling techniques tailored to suit the specific needs for each presenting concern.
(She will be available after August 14th.)
Hanna Redpath is originally from Ottawa, Canada and has been living in Shanghai since 1998. She holds a M. Ed in International Counseling from Lehigh University, USA and has over 10 years experience teaching physical, mental and emotional wellness. She works well with children, teens and adults struggling with culture shock and transitions, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and family or marital issues.
(She will be available after July 29.)
Boon-Seah Loh is from Singapore. He holds a Masters degree in Counseling from the University of South Australia. Prior to relocating to Shanghai, he was a school counselor working with teenagers aged between 13 to 17 years. He has helped teens with a wide range of issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, grief & loss, gender identity, sexual permissiveness, low motivation, school refusal, anger, gang membership, substance abuse, and self-harm. In addition to teen-issues, he has worked with adults on marital difficulties and anger issues. He is fluent in English and has a fair understanding of Mandarin. He is only available in the Pudong center and Brantingham office.
(He is available in months of June and August.)
Carrie Jones is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker from Texas (USA). She has a Masters Degree in Social Work from Baylor University. In Texas, she worked in a number of settings including a family counseling center, a substance abuse center, and several schools. Carrie specializes in working with children and adolescents, but also is available to work with adults on a broad range of issues including cultural adjustment/transition, family and relationship issues, grief and loss, substance abuse, anxiety, stress, depression, and mental illness. In addition to individual counseling, Carrie also has experience in leading support groups and in crisis/trauma intervention. She is available to counsel at the Pudong Jinqiao center. For more information about Carrie or her counseling style, you can visit www.shanghaicounselor.com.
(She is available all summer.)
Marisol Gallardo, B.Psych., is a psychologist from Chile. She has a B. Psych. from Diego Portales University and Graduated Studies on Family and Couples Therapy from the Instituto Chileno de Terapia Familiar. She specializes in family and couples therapy, where the goal is to harness and strengthen family resources, and help family members work collaboratively towards solutions to their emotional problems and personal crises. She is also trained in individual therapy. The sessions are focus on understanding individuals' thoughts, feelings and behavior within the context of their families. She is experienced in working with child/parenting problems, marital issues, child and adolescent difficulties and divorce issues. She is fluent in spanish and english. Marisol is available in Pudong Jinqiao Center and BMF office.
(She is available all summer.)
Barbara J. Shaya is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor, under post-degree supervision. Ms. Shaya received her Master of Arts in Counseling, with a specialization in mental health, at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

Ms. Shaya has professional training and experience working with adults both individually and in group counseling settings. Ms. Shaya worked in a non-profit clinic specializing in the treatment of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as perpetrators of domestic violence. She has experience working with diverse issues including: depression, anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse, grief and loss, divorce, parenting, adjustment, attention deficit, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, suicide, and others.

Ms Shaya offers mental health services to adults and adolescents in both individual and group settings. Ms. Shaya's professional counseling style is based in humanistic, psychodynamic, and existential orientations; however, she utilizes a variety of other techniques (i.e. cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy) where appropriate. Each client is systematically evaluated and assessed so that a counseling plan can be developed based on their individual needs and goals.
(She will be available after August 18th.)
Brandi Renee Dillon is a Licensed Professional Counselor from the United States and a Professor of Psychology. Brandi holds a Master's Degree in Counseling from Webster University with an emphasis in Professional Mental Health Counseling.

In the United States, Brandi worked in settings such as school counseling, group therapy for substance abuse and mental illness conditions, hospital setting for those that suffer from a mental illness and treatment agencies for disabilities and special needs.

Prior to her arrival to Shanghai, she has years experience in working with those individuals that may suffer from a mental illness such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression, alcohol and/or substance history and dependence, suicide, self harm behavior, depression and anxiety. Brandi has individual and group counseling experience and is also available to assist those with culture adjustment and transition difficulties, crisis management, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness or depression.
Brandi is available at the Puxi Hongqiao Center and Minghan office location.
(She will be available after Aug 14.)
Contact us
Phone : 136 3631 7474 (Melinda Weber)
Email : counseling@communitycenter.cn
Location :

Pudong Center
Jinqiao, Pudong
2/F Greenhills Clubhouse
Lane 418, Jinxiu East Road
Shanghai 200135
Phone: (021) 3382-1770
Hongqiao Center
No. 201, 5/F, Lane 3215 Hong Mei Road, Shanghai
(300 meters behind City Shop, off of Hong Song Dong Lu)
Phone: 021-6406-4276
Minhang Center
318 Mingjia Road Building 1, 3rd floor, Huacao Town,
Minhang District, Shanghai
Phone: 5226-3717

BMF China
Room 24F, East Ocean Center, East Tower
No. 588, Yan An Road East near Zhejiang Lu (People Square), Shanghai 200001, China