Professor Dr Firdaus was born in Kuala Lumpur and is the current President for the Asian Cognitive Behavior Therapy Association (ACBTA). She is the Deputy Dean at School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia and currently also serves as Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Psychiatry Clinic (HSAAS). She graduated from Edith Cowan University and University of Queensland, Australia for her master and doctorate study, respectively.
She was nominated as a Global Leader Ambassador 2023 by the World Confederation of CBT upon her vast contribution in clinical services, research work and outstanding leadership. She was the first Honorary Secretary for Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology. Her work has been recognized as Best Research Award at International Brain and Behavior Conference, Greece. The World Health Organization has appointed Dr Firdaus as CBT Expert Consultant to conduct and develop CBT manual and training to all Family Medicine Specialists in the country. She was awarded the Young Scientist Award by Loreal Malaysia due to her excellent contribution in research on CBT. She has trained CBT skills to various types of clinical and non-clinical groups not just in Malaysia but also in the area of South East Asia and Middle East. She was appointed as an external examiner and a peer-reviewer for both local and international journals. She has nearly 100 journal publications and books (5 CBT books on depression and anxiety) and has special interest in depression, anxiety, weight management and vaginismus.