BIOGRAPHY
Lely Safrina is a licensed clinical psychologist in Indonesia and a lecturer at Universitas Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh. She has seven years of clinical experience at Aceh Provincial Hospital and two years of voluntary service in Puskesmas (primary/community health care). She is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her dissertation explores how key stakeholders perceive the role of clinical psychologists in Indonesia’s health care system, with the goal of informing efforts to strengthen the profession and improve the delivery and accessibility of mental health services.
Her research interests—spanning policy reform, mental health systems, literacy, stigma, and culturally informed care—are shaped by her firsthand experience with the challenges facing mental health care in Indonesia, including stigma and low public awareness that limit access to effective support.