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Peejay Bengwasan

Associate Professorial Lecturer 2

Educational Background

PhD in Psychology, major in Clinical Psychology
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

Peejay D. Bengwasan is a registered psychologist and psychometrician in the Philippines who has over 15 years of experience in providing psychological assessment and psychotherapy. He is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Child-Centered Play Therapy and art-based interventions, which have been the foci of his clinical practice. His practice focuses on child-centered play therapy and interventions for children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 and their families. His early clinical work has been focused on psychological assessment of children with experiences of trauma and neurodevelopmental concerns.

Since 2014, he has been involved in court-mandated rehabilitation and anger management programs of children in conflict with the law, in which his task has been primarily to process the experience of residents within government-run partner agencies and provide an assessment for their readiness for reintegration within their respective communities.

His current clinical work also focuses on identifying and managing suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety in teens. He provides consultations and urgent interventions in coordination with medical professionals and caregivers of clients who have been identified as having high risk of self-harm and self-injury. Recently, his practice has incorporated gender-affirmative counseling and psychotherapy given concerns related to gender identity and internalizing problem disorders that his usual clients present with.

With passion and training in the arts, his interventions incorporate the arts and the use of symbolism in the formulation and interpretation of aspects of the different cases he handles. Being trained and certified under the Beck Institute and the Glasser Institute, his work with young to middle adults are mainly done with cognitive behavioral therapy and choice theory/reality therapy. He has handled more than 500 cases throughout his career as a practitioner.

Peejay is currently an associate professorial lecturer at the De La Salle University (DLSU) and a member of the Hope and Well-being Research Laboratory at DLSU. He practices a child psychotherapist and clinical supervisor for interns, students, and other volunteer professionals, and teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs at DLSU.

As an active member of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, he is the current co-chair of the Clinical Psychology Division. As an aspiring practitioner-researcher, his research interests include child and adolescent mental health, psychological interventions, and well-being and most recently, the impact of socio-political factors on mental health.

Some of his works have been featured in international conferences and conventions as the International Congress of Psychology, American Psychological Association, and the International Congress of Clinical and Health Psychology in Children and Adolescents. He believes in combining evidence-based practice with actual research experience as the way to become a holistic and well-rounded mental health professional.

Research Interest