The person behind the practice

I'm Nina — Alena Abdul Aziz. I'm a psychotherapist based in Petaling Jaya, and most days that means sitting across from someone while they say something out loud for the first time. A worry they haven't named. A resentment they've been carrying quietly. A version of themselves they don't recognise anymore.

I started Kopi with Nina because I wanted my practice to feel the way I think good therapy should feel — less like a clinical appointment, more like sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee. Unhurried. Human. No jargon standing between us and what's actually going on.

"You don't need the right words to start. You just need to sit down."

How I work

I work with individuals, couples, and families, and separately with people navigating stress and burnout at work. My approach draws on evidence-based frameworks including CBT, ACT, and somatic work — but I don't lead with technique. I lead with listening. Most people already know, somewhere, what's wrong. What they need is room to say it, and someone steady enough to help them make sense of it.

Sessions are conversational rather than clinical. I'll ask direct questions. I won't rush you. And I won't hand you a diagnosis as if it explains everything about you — it rarely does.

I'm also the founder of Unlanguaged — a somatic and emotional processing framework I've developed through clinical practice. It includes the Emotion Compass Deck and Somatic Release Deck, tools designed to help people access and work with feeling states when words alone aren't quite enough.

Credentials

MA in Psychotherapy  ·  BA in Applied Psychology  ·  Certified in ACT (Dr. Russ Harris)  ·  Certified in Foundational CBT and CBT for Depression (Psychwire)  ·  General Practitioner License (MAPsyGP), Malaysian Association of Psychotherapy  ·  Honorary Secretary, Malaysian Association of Psychotherapy  ·  Industry Advisor, GlobalNxt University (Psychology)

Beyond private practice

Alongside Kopi with Nina, I serve as Mental Health Wellness Team Lead at Accenture Operations, supporting the wellbeing of employees across one of the world's largest professional services firms. I lead a team of practitioners, design and facilitate wellness programmes, and work directly with senior leadership to build psychologically safer workplaces. This dual life — one foot in the intimacy of private practice, one in the complexity of large organisations — shapes how I show up with every client. I understand the pressures of high-performance environments, the particular loneliness of struggling in a workplace that expects you to be fine, and the courage it takes to reach out for support.

Outside the therapy room

Outside of my work, I live a life that moves — quite literally. I am a dancer, student, and instructor of salsa and bachata, and co-founder of KL Social Society, a dance community built on the belief that connection and joy should be accessible to everyone. Every Saturday evening at HRC Sky Lounge, Nu Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, my co-founder Meyer and I host completely free salsa and bachata classes — no experience, no partner, no cost. Just music, movement, and people willing to try something new.

I'm also President of IPC Toastmasters Club, and co-founder of Couch Collective — a monthly gathering that holds space for therapists to relax, exchange experiences, share informal peer supervision, and let their hair down over a warm conversation with like-minded people.

I believe dance does something that words sometimes can't: it asks us to be present, to listen, and to trust — ourselves and each other. In that way, it feels less separate from my therapeutic work than it might appear.