Professor Cecilia CHAN

B.Soc.Sc.; M.Soc.Sc.; Ph.D. (HK); R.S.W.; F.H.K.P.C.A.; F.A.O.S.W.; J.P.

Professor Emeritus, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, and Founding Director and Associate Director, Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong and Fellow, Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association, and Founding Fellow, Hong Kong Academy of Social Work, and Fellow, Association of Oncology Social Work.

Professor Chan is a world leader in health and social work. She is author of over 400 articles and book chapters in health and mental health in social work, eastern integrative empowerment intervention and outcome research, psychosocial oncology, death and bereavement care. She advocated for a strength-oriented empowerment approach in her work with traumatized individuals. She adopted vigorous bio-psycho-social outcome indicators in her randomized trials on measuring impact of her innovative Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit (IBMS) interventions on different population groups. Brief of her work of IBMS intervention and its impact can be found in the 3-minute video: Click here

She leads the first multi-disciplinary team using salivary cortisol (stress), IL6 (inflammatory marker) and telomerase (anti-aging) as physiological impact on psychosocial and qigong exercises training by social workers. Her creative synergy of Chinese philosophies and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices into holistic behavioral health intervention is ground-breaking. 

Her integrative meaning-making empowerment strategies effectively nurture spirituality of forgiveness, appreciation, gratitude, peace, hope, resilience and optimism, which are fundamental to building a harmonious society.

Her leadership in the study of hospice, palliative, trauma, disaster and bereavement care is also recognized by her many international awards and local recognitions. She has graduated over 60 research postgraduate students, many of them have taken up leadership positions in prestigious universities world-wide. She has established new service delivery systems like Hospital Patients’ Resource Centers and Community Rehabilitation Network (for chronic patients) in Hong Kong, as well as established new services for orphans, chronic patients, women, children with special needs and victims of disaster in China. She is an excellent social work academic and practitioner, a social entrepreneur and a Change Maker in society. She served as Founding Director of the Centre on Behavioral Health, the HKU-HKJC ExCEL3 Project (Excellence in Capacity-building on Entrepreneurship and Leadership for the Third Sector), the JCECC (Jockey Club End-of-life Community Care) Project in The University of Hong Kong. She was the first Chinese member to the IWG (International Workgroup for Death, Dying and Bereavement of National Leaders), Fellow of the Association of Oncology Social Workers (AOSW) and the Clinical Practice Award of Association of Death Education and Counselling (ADEC).