From the boardroom to the therapy room, I help you dismantle the survival patterns that limit your impact - and lead with inner authority.
Michelle Mah is a Singapore-based psychotherapist and executive coach specialising in burnout, perfectionism, and trauma recovery for high-functioning and high-achieving women. She is the founder of The Curious Bonsai Therapy & Coaching.
My work sits at the intersection of psychotherapy and coaching – integrating clinical psychology, nervous system regulation, and identity development to support change that is both stabilising and forward-moving.
Sometimes that work is therapeutic.
Sometimes it is developmental.
The distinction matters, and it’s part of how this work is held with care.
This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about becoming more regulated, clear, and self-led.
I work with high-achieving women and leadership teams who are outwardly capable – yet internally strained by pressure, responsibility, and invisible emotional load.
What often looks like ambition, resilience, or success is frequently a nervous system operating in survival.
My work integrates clinical psychotherapy, identity-led coaching, and trauma-informed leadership education to support deep, sustainable transformation – at the level of body, mind, and identity.
This is not surface-level growth.
It’s recalibration from the inside out.
There are a few distinct ways to work together:
1:1 Coaching & Psychotherapy
Private, high-touch work those ready to engage in depth, learning, and long-term inner stability.
Coaching is for women navigating career pivots, leadership transitions, or life reinvention. You have the capacity to move forward but are blocked by perfectionism, chronic self-doubt, or identities built for others’ expectations.
Psychotherapy offers clinically grounded support for stress, burnout, anxiety, trauma, and entrenched survival patterns, working directly with the nervous system, somatic experience, inner child healing and psychological roots of behaviour.
Corporate Talks & Workshops
This work supports organisations to translate awareness into behavioural and cultural change.
Michelle facilitates:
• Trauma-informed talks & workshops around nervous system literacy, inner authority, psychological safety, and strengths-based leadership.
• CliftonStrengths group workshops
Best suited for:
• Leadership development programs
• Team offsites and retreats
• Women’s leadership events
• Ongoing wellbeing or culture initiatives
Speaking & Keynotes
These sessions are designed to elevate prevailing narratives around performance and burnout, and challenge how leaders think about capacity, resilience, and sustainable success.
Drawing on clinical psychotherapy and years of work with individuals and teams, Michelle’s keynotes are intellectually rigorous, emotionally intelligent, and framed for senior audiences.
Best suited for:
• Conferences & summits
• Leadership offsites
• Executive and senior leadership audiences
• Women’s leadership events
or organisational collaborations.
Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today!
We're a perfect fit if...
YOU VALUE DEPTH OVER PERFORMANCE
You’re not looking for quick fixes, motivational hype, or surface-level insight.
You understand that meaningful change requires depth, nuance, and a willingness to engage beneath the surface.
YOU’RE READY FOR CLARITY, NOT CONSTANT STRIVING
You want to lead, decide, and grow from self-trust rather than urgency, overthinking, or pressure.
You’re done proving - and ready to move from grounded authority.
YOU WANT GROWTH THAT DOESN’T COST YOU YOURSELF
Whether personally or professionally, you’re seeking expansion that is sustainable, embodied, and human - not driven by burnout or self-abandonment.
YOU RESPECT THE ROLE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
You recognise that stress, burnout, and leadership challenges aren’t just mindset issues - they’re physiological and psychological.
You’re open to working with regulation, not pushing past it.
YOU VALUE PROFESSIONALISM, BOUNDARIES, AND DISCERNMENT
You’re comfortable with clear structure, ethical boundaries, and being guided by expertise. You understand that not all work - or all pathways - are appropriate for everyone at every stage.
This work is intentional, considered, and not designed for mass appeal. That’s what makes it effective.
How this work has supported women like you…
Michelle was an exceptional guide throughout this journey. Her open, balanced, and inclusive approach created a safe space for me to explore my challenges surrounding perfectionism and transformed my mindset. The experience has been nothing short of life-changing. I have gained essential tools that I now use in my daily life, including mindfulness practices that helped me navigate uncertainty and change. Michelle helped me shift my perceptions, allowing me to respond to old triggers with new attitudes.
The entire process was deeply self-revealing, and I cannot thank Michelle enough for her support and guidance. I am no longer the same person I was before; I feel empowered and equipped for my journey ahead. Thank you, Michelle, for being such an amazing Sherpa on this path!
Her experience - both in her prior role and now make her a true lived expert. She is a true professional and a natural public speaker making her a pleasure to learn from!
Michelle curated the panel with a great deal of thought, ensuring diversity in perspectives and that we covered critical aspects of psychological safety – how it drives performance, its importance in environments where physical safety is a priority for frontline workers, and why agile ways of working cannot thrive without it.
As a moderator, Michelle is balanced, asks thoughtful questions, and truly cares about making the session valuable for participants. Her ability to create a space where meaningful conversations happen is a testament to her leadership and passion for fostering psychological safety. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of the discussion, and I look forward to seeing the impact she continues to make in this space!









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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between therapy and coaching with Michelle?
Both are distinct modalities, held with clear ethical boundaries and professional judgement.
Psychotherapy is the right container when you’re navigating deeper psychological patterns, trauma, burnout, anxiety, or mental health concerns — working directly with the nervous system and the roots of behaviour. Coaching is appropriate when you are psychologically stable, not seeking treatment for a mental health condition, and your focus is on growth, leadership, or identity development.
Who does Michelle work with?
Michelle works primarily with high-achieving women and leadership teams who are outwardly capable — yet internally strained by pressure, responsibility, and invisible emotional load. Many are accomplished and high-functioning on the surface, while quietly carrying perfectionism, chronic stress, or patterns that have stopped serving them.
She also works with organisations through corporate talks, workshops, and keynotes and speaks on team psychological safety, mental health, connection in the age of AI and Strengths-based development.
How long are sessions and how often?
This is shaped by what you’re working on and agreed upon together at the start. Coaching typically runs in defined containers of four to six months. For psychotherapy, the timeline is more open, with regular progress reviews. Clear intentions are established at the outset so both of you know what you’re moving toward.
Michelle does not offer single or ad-hoc sessions for new clients — a consistent container needs to be established first. Ad-hoc sessions are available to established clients once foundational work has been completed.
Where is Michelle based and does she see clients online?
Michelle’s practice, The Curious Bonsai Therapy & Coaching, is located at 12 Purvis Street, #02-01, Suite C, Singapore 188591. She works both in-person and online, which allows connection from wherever you feel most comfortable and private – and accommodates the full schedules of the women she works with.
What are Michelle's qualifications?
Michelle holds a Master of Counselling (M.Couns) and her clinical training spans across maternal mental health, mindfulness and self-compassion work, trauma-informed modalities including MEMI, Brain Switch 2.0, Gottman Couples Therapy, and Applied Suicide Intervention (ASIST). She is also a Licensed NLP Coach with the Society of NLP, Mindful Schools Facilitator, and holds a 300-hour Yoga Alliance certification. She sits on the adjunct faculty at Nanyang Technological University and delivers programmes for Singapore Management University. She is a TEDx speaker and has been featured on CNA, TODAY, and MoneyFM.
How much does 1:1 work with Michelle cost?
Pricing isn’t listed publicly — the investment is discussed personally once Michelle understands what you’re navigating and what container of work makes sense as they are each customised to the duration and extent of work required for each individual. Reach out through the contact form or email hello@thecuriousbonsai.com for details.
How do I book a discovery call?
Fill out the inquiry form on the contact page and share a little about where you are and what you’re looking for. Michelle reviews every inquiry personally. You can also reach out at hello@thecuriousbonsai.com.
Does Michelle work with corporate teams?
Yes. Michelle facilitates trauma-informed talks and workshops covering nervous system literacy, inner authority, psychological safety, and strengths-based leadership — suited for leadership development programmes, team offsites, women’s leadership events, and ongoing wellbeing initiatives. She also delivers paid keynotes for organisations wanting a more grounded conversation about performance and burnout.