ABOUT
Ruth Gan
Senior Clinical Psychologist
B.A. (Hons), M.Psych (Clinical), MSPS
Registered Psychologist (Singapore)
I am a registered Clinical Psychologist in Singapore who supports adolescents and adults with various mental health presentations. My aim is to help individuals deepen their awareness to underlying emotional experiences and recurring relational patterns, so they can engage with life and relationships in a more authentic and meaningful way.
On the preventive front, I enjoy working with parents. I believe that a strong parent-child attachment in the early years lays the foundation for healthy emotional development later in life. My hope is to provide evidence-based support to parents in order to help family systems flourish.
My therapeutic approach is relational, attachment-focused, and integrative. I strive to create a thoughtful and collaborative space where clients feel genuinely understood. My work is guided by curiosity, emotional attunement, and an interest in how past and present experiences shape one's worldview and ways of relating to others.
I enjoy working with people who are looking for medium to long-term therapy as I believe that the therapeutic relationship is a core facet of the work. That being said, there are clients who have also benefited from seeing me short-term as well, and it largely depends on individual needs.
I have a strong interest in working with people who have struggled with chronic anxiety, low self-worth, and/or recurring relational difficulties.
Credentials
Singapore Psychological Society
Full Member
Singapore Registered Psychologist (SRP)
National University of Singapore
Master of Psychology (Clinical)
My years at the National University Hospital (NUH) in Singapore provided me with extensive experience working with diverse clinical populations and a broad range of mental health concerns. I provided psychotherapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings across the lifespan, collaborated closely with multidisciplinary teams supporting individuals undergoing physical rehabilitation, and developed and facilitated caregiver support groups. These experiences deepened my appreciation for the complex interplay between emotional, relational, and physical aspects of well-being. It is also through these experiences that I developed my clinical interests in Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Personality Disorders, and and the emotional challenges that can accompany physical illness and health conditions.
Other Relevant Experiences and Training
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CGH Psychodynamic Conference 2025, with Jeremy Holmes
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Schema Therapy Level 1
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Schema Therapy Level 2
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, with XX
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HMDP, Shirley Ryan, Chicago
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Christian Counselling & Educational Foundation (CCEF)
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Dynamics of Biblical Change
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Helping Relationships
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Everyday Problems in Counselling
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Marriage Counselling
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My Convictions
A Short Piece To Get To Know Me Better As Your Psychologist
Behind The Name: Why Tend?
The name Tend was chosen because I believe that our lives—and especially our hearts—need tending to.
At the core of my work is the belief that every person deserves to be genuinely known, understood, and related to. The therapeutic relationship requires time to deepen and grow, but when established, it provides opportunities to understand patterns that emerge in other areas of life, and can facilitate meaningful change.
If you are looking for quick fixes or surface-level solutions, this space may not be the right fit for you. In a world that increasingly values efficiency and convenience, where even technology can provide a form of emotional support, I believe there remains something deeply important about being seen and tended to by another human being. Therapy with me offers a unique opportunity to experience the depth of connection, reflection, and self-awareness that can be difficult to find elsewhere.
The idea of tending comes from gardening.
When a garden is neglected — or when we have never been taught how to care for it — weeds inevitably grow. Over time, they can crowd out healthy growth, leaving the garden overwhelmed and difficult to manage. Yet what has become familiar is not always what is helpful. Sometimes it feels easier to leave the weeds where they are than to face the work of removing them.
Therapy, in many ways, is about learning to tend to your inner garden.
As we begin to understand ourselves more deeply, we become better able to recognise the patterns, beliefs, and ways of relating that are unhelpful and perhaps even detrimental. We learn what requires attention, what needs to be let go of, and what deserves to be nurtured. When we cultivate healthier foundations, we create space for growth, resilience, and flourishing.
The work of gardening is a fitting metaphor for the work of therapy.
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Therapy requires vulnerability. It involves bringing parts of yourself into view, examining long-held struggles, and making room for emotions that may have been avoided or pushed aside.
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Therapy requires openness. At times, it means being challenged, encountering uncomfortable truths, or approaching aspects of yourself that feel difficult to face.
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Therapy requires ongoing care. Growth is rarely a one-time event. Like a garden, our emotional lives benefit from consistent attention and nurturing over time.
This work is not always easy. As your psychologist, I am not simply offering strategies or temporary solutions. Rather, I hope to walk alongside you as we make sense of your early experiences, understand what has shaped you, and identify the conditions for meaningful and lasting change.
You do not have to do this work alone.
My hope is to help tend to you, and in time, to help you develop the confidence and capacity to tend to yourself.
Consider my musings.