WHO WE ARE?
CAPE — the Centre for Applied Psychology and Education — is an interdisciplinary consultancy dedicated to helping people flourish.
We work at the intersection of psychology, education, behaviour, relationships, and human development, translating knowledge and research into practical solutions for the real challenges people encounter in their homes, schools, relationships, and workplaces.
Our work spans two interconnected areas: Educational Consulting and Personal Consulting.
Through our Educational Consulting services, we partner with parents, teachers, therapists, educational leaders, and schools. We help families understand and support children with additional needs; assist educators in creating inclusive and effective learning environments; mentor professionals seeking personal and professional growth; and work alongside school leaders to strengthen people, practice, culture, and organisational effectiveness.
Through our Personal Consulting services, we support adolescents and adults seeking greater self-understanding, emotional wellbeing, personal growth, and healthier relationships. We also work with couples and families, including those navigating the particular strengths and challenges that can accompany neurodivergence.
Our People
Dr Denise Lai Chua
Educationalist & Disability-Inclusive Mental Health Practitioner
Dr. Denise Lai Chua is an educationalist dedicated to advancing inclusive, compassionate, and evidence-based mental health care for individuals with disabilities. With a deep commitment to equity and accessibility, she works with clients across the lifespan –supporting those with physical, sensory, intellectual, and neurodevelopmental differences to enhance emotional well-being, build resilience, and live meaningful lives.
Denise’s practice is guided by a pluralistic and strengths-based philosophy, integrating insights from psychology, education, public policy, and Universal Design. She believes that effective mental health support must be responsive not only to a person’s inner world but also to the environments and systems that shape their daily experiences.
Denise has spent more than three decades in clinical, academic, and community settings in Singapore and overseas. Her experience spans assessment, therapy, training, supervision, and programme development. She has worked closely with multidisciplinary teams in a broad range of cultural contexts to promote human flourishing in schools, healthcare settings, and community organisations.
As an advocate for mental health inclusion, Denise is passionate about reducing barriers to care, training professionals in inclusive practice, and collaborating with partners across disciplines to make psychological support accessible for all.
Rhosanna Ruth Rigden
Supporting Director & Practice Development Lead
Rhosanna Ruth Rigden serves as Supporting Director at CAPE where she works alongside Dr. Denise Lai Chua to advance the centre’s mission of providing inclusive, accessible, and evidence-based mental health care for individuals with disabilities.
She trained initially as a teacher in the UK through the prestigious TeachFirst Teacher Training Programme. Subsequently, she spent three years working in a school serving an underprivileged region, supporting her students to succeed despite challenging circumstances.
Armed with these and other experiences in education, organisational leadership and community development, Rhosanna brings expertise in operational strategy, programme design, and stakeholder engagement. Her role focuses on ensuring that the centre’s values of inclusion, collaboration, and Universal Design are reflected in every aspect of its work—from client experience and staff well-being to outreach and service delivery.
Rhosanna is passionate about creating systems that enable people to thrive, particularly those often overlooked by traditional models of care. She works closely with Denise and the clinical team to foster partnerships across disciplines, integrate accessibility principles into service design, and cultivate a culture of empathy and innovation within the practice.
Her leadership reflects a deep belief that mental health inclusion is both a social responsibility and a collective endeavour—one that flourishes when professionals, communities, and clients work together with shared purpose.
Jennifer Eades
Zhang Ling Jun
Sarah Rigden
Our Mission
Our Vision
To help people flourish.
We envision a future where every individual is understood, every family is strengthened, every classroom is inclusive, and every leader is equipped to bring out the best in others.
By integrating education, psychology, neuroscience, and compassionate care, we seek to unlock human potential, strengthen relationships, and build communities in which every person can belong, thrive, and live with purpose.
We exist to transform lives through the integration of psychological science, educational excellence, and compassionate care.
Whether supporting a child with additional needs, guiding a family, mentoring professionals, or consulting with schools and organisations, we work alongside people to develop practical solutions, foster meaningful relationships, and create lasting change so that individuals, families, and communities can flourish.
Our Values are to.....
Care
by always seeking the best positive outcomes for individuals, couples, and families, so that everyone feels valued, respected, and cared for.
Be Accessible
by ensuring that our people, services and programmes are available to all who need them.
Be Principled
by exercising the highest levels of integrity, transparency, fairness and accountability in all our relational and operational processes
Be Equitable
by adhering to the belief that all individuals are equal and that the pursuit of equity is both right and good for all.
Be Excellent
by aiming high to reach “best practices” in our respective fields of knowledge.