Psychologists / Counsellors 

Dr. Emmanuel Bernet is a French-Canadian psychotherapist and educational psychologist based in Singapore. He offers counselling in English and French to children, adolescents, adults, parents, and families. Inspired by Bioenergetic Analysis, his work is grounded in the understanding that emotional difficulties are not only experienced in thoughts or words, but also in the body, relationships, breathing, posture, and patterns of self-protection. Therapy with Emmanuel is an invitation to slow down, listen more deeply to oneself, and begin a structured process of self-discovery, emotional healing, and reconnection.​

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When Therapy May Help
 

People often seek therapy when they feel anxious, overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, disconnected, under pressure, or unable to move forward despite their efforts. Children and adolescents may show distress through school disengagement, academic pressure, low confidence, emotional outbursts, withdrawal, attention difficulties, or family tensions. Adults may come with stress, depression, burnout, trauma-related difficulties, relationship concerns, psychosomatic symptoms, or the feeling that old patterns keep repeating in their relationships, work, or personal life.

 

Emmanuel supports clients in the following areas:

• Anxiety, stress, and depression

• Trauma-related difficulties and psychosomatic symptoms

• Relationship concerns and parenting challenges

• Academic pressure, motivation, and school disengagement

• Self-esteem, confidence, and emotional wellbeing

• Psychological and educational assessments

• Neuro-Cognitive AI assessments

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Bioenergetic Analysis Therapy
 

Bioenergetic Analysis Therapy is at the core of Emmanuel’s clinical work. This approach helps clients explore how emotional pain, stress, fear, anger, sadness, shame, and relational experiences may be held in the body through muscular tension, restricted breathing, posture, voice, movement, and patterns of self-expression. It can be especially helpful for people who feel that their difficulties are not only “in their head”, but also present in the body as tension, fatigue, anxiety, shutdown, restlessness, or difficulty expressing themselves.

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In practice, the work may include therapeutic conversation, body awareness, breathing, grounding exercises, gentle movement, work with posture and voice, and supported emotional expression. Clients are never pushed to express more than they are ready to express. Emotional expression is approached carefully and safely, allowing feelings such as tears, anger, tenderness, fear, grief, or assertiveness to emerge at a pace the client can tolerate and integrate.

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The aim is not simply to “release emotion,” but to help clients develop a stronger sense of inner stability, vitality, self-acceptance, and relational presence. Through this body–mind process, clients can begin to understand how they protect themselves, where they feel blocked, and how they may reconnect with more freedom, confidence, and aliveness.

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Integrative Therapeutic Work
 

Alongside Bioenergetic Analysis, Emmanuel integrates cognitive behavioural therapy, clinical hypnotherapy techniques, positive psychology interventions, and, when working with children, play therapy strategies when appropriate. CBT can help clients identify unhelpful thoughts, emotional triggers, and behavioural patterns, while developing practical coping steps. Positive psychology supports strengths, resilience, meaning, and wellbeing. Hypnotherapy-informed techniques, relaxation, and imagery may help deepen focus, calm the nervous system, and support emotional processing.

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With children and adolescents, Emmanuel adapts the work through developmentally appropriate language, play, role-play, drawing, movement, and parent guidance when relevant. With adults, the work may focus more directly on emotional patterns, trauma-related responses, relationship dynamics, stress, burnout, self-worth, and life transitions. In all cases, the goal is to help clients feel more grounded, more connected to themselves and others, and more able to respond to life and relationships with clarity, confidence, emotional stability, and relational presence.

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Psychological, Educational & Neuro-Cognitive Assessments
 

Emmanuel also offers selected psychological, educational, and neuro-cognitive assessments for school-age children, adolescents, and adults, within his professional training and scope of practice. Assessment can be helpful when a child, teenager, adult, or family needs a clearer understanding of learning, attention, emotional functioning, coping style, personality patterns, daily functioning, or support needs.

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Assessments are conducted carefully and seriously, using data gathered from clinical interviews, validated tools, observations, questionnaires, and relevant background information when appropriate. They are followed by an extensive written report that translates the results into clear, practical, and useful recommendations for therapy, school support, parenting decisions, individual strategies, referral, or a more personalised support plan.

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For school-age children and adolescents, assessment can help families better understand learning difficulties, school pressure, attention concerns, emotional or behavioural challenges, developmental questions, and possible support pathways. For adults, it can help clarify stress, anxiety, depression, trauma-related difficulties, coping style, personality patterns, and personal functioning. When appropriate, Emmanuel may also integrate Neuro-Cognitive AI tools available through the centre to support a clearer understanding of attention, cognitive functioning, stress, emotional wellbeing, and progress over time.

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Professional Background
 

Emmanuel brings a distinctive background that combines psychotherapy, educational psychology, and more than 25 years of experience as a primary school teacher, educational adviser, teacher trainer, and researcher in Canada, China, Singapore, and the wider Asia-Pacific region. This allows him to understand individual distress within wider family, school, work, cultural, and developmental contexts.

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His distinctive contribution lies in bringing Bioenergetic Analysis Therapy together with educational psychology, CBT-informed work, and psychological assessment. He has contributed to publications and projects on motivation, wellbeing, emotional development, psychosocial competencies, and learning, and he is Associate Editor of the Australian Psychological Society journal Educational and Developmental Psychologist.

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Ethical Boundaries & Availability : Until the 2 July 2026, Emmanuel’s practice is conducted strictly outside he International French School (IFS) working hours. To preserve confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, and maintain clear professional boundaries, he does not provide services to IFS students, parents, staff members, or individuals directly connected to the IFS community until September 2026. Sessions are available after 6:00 p.m. Singapore time on working days, and on weekends.