Agenda

Main Forum Day 1 | Monday, 14 February 2022

Keynote
Student Mental Health And Suicide Prevention: A Clinical Perspective Of The Challenges Of Stigmatization, Pitfalls And Long Term Intervention

Schools have an important role to play in combatting suicide, a significant public health problem that disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults. Schools can work to reduce youth suicidality by adopting policies that align with best practice recommendations pertaining to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) encourages a multiple-stakeholder approach to preventing suicides among youth, including collaborations between ministries and national agencies. At the ministerial level, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has sought to change the examination system and also introduce socio-emotional learning programmes in existing curriculum. MSF also refers mental health cases to the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), which is housed under IMH.

Starting university can be a wonderful and exciting time for students as they acquire new knowledge, meet new people, learn about themselves and others and form lasting friendships. It can also be layered with difficulties that can originate in the transition period; in high school the students are still tunnel-vision focussed on completing school and examination requirements. In university they’re shell shocked and need a bit of hand holding as they feel things out. One is an ending, the other is a beginning.

Ensuring student success is not merely a set of academic considerations. For most, this will be the first time they live away from home and are truly responsible for their life choices. In order to promote personal, social and academic readiness we will take a look at strategies/activities that promote personal awareness, build resilience and ultimately lead to students feeling excited and ready to ‘leave well’ to the next chapter of their lives.

This session will cover the rapidly growing body of research on the impact of social media on youth mental health and synthesize what the current scientific evidence suggests about how, why and for whom social media use may have positive or negative effects.

The aim of the talk is to help parents and teachers better understand:

• what makes youth engage with and respond to social media in adaptive or maladaptive ways;
• if there are specific social media behaviours or experiences that could increase youth risk or resilience to mental health issues; and
• how they can help youth navigate social media in a safe(r) way.

• How students can identify a friend in need
• Implementing awareness, staff training and resources to educate so your school is equipped to address and manage student mental health
• Engaging your staff in a continuous dialogue about the mental wellbeing of your school community
• Promoting open communication between students and staff to help with early detection of mental health issues

How does it affect them? If they become addicted to games or using the Internet, their grades could drop, they are unable to go to school, their relationship with family becomes strained, they sleep poorly, they do not feel like eating, and they feel depressed or angry. This presentation will take a closer look into the gamer motivations, learn how to identify warning signs, how you can support them and ways to develop cyber well-being in schools.

Main Forum Day 2 | Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Building Mental Resiliency To Prevent Student Depression And Promote Mindfulness And Empathy

In the 2016 Singapore Mental Health Study conducted by the Institute of Mental Health, one in seven Singapore residents have experienced at least one mental condition in their lifetime and major depressive disorder is the number one condition.

Mindfulness is effective in the understanding of our thoughts, feeling and actions. It empowers us to take the necessary pauses which increases mental resilience so as to manage life’s challenges. Cultivating mindfulness also enhances our empathy for others and promotes care for ourselves, which are essential preventive measures against depression.

Improving Students’ Wellbeing Through Positive Psychology

This sharing looks at how we can apply the science of Positive Psychology to build and harness students’ psychological resources to develop personal resilience, improve wellbeing and promote happiness. Armed with the knowledge and experience, students will hopefully be equipped with the life skills and confidence to overcome challenges and thrive in an increasingly VUCA world.

To Build Mental Wellness And Resilience Among The Students: The Role Of School, Community And Health Care And In Youth Mental Health Prevention And Intervention

• This session will discuss what are the needs of for implementing prevention and early intervention in youth mental health
• What are the challenges and learning from implementation of this changes
• How can partnership build a better community and environment to support student with mental health challenges

Dr Jiow Hee Jhee
Associate Professor – Business, Communication and Design Cluster
Programme Leader – BSc (Hons) Digital Communications and Integrated Media
Programme Leader – BA (Hons) Criminology and Security
Singapore Institute of Technology

Research has shown that VR training yields a 75% retention rate as compared to just a 5% and 10% rate for lecture-style learning and reading respectively. Hence, the VR Immersive Experience is expected to enhance learning and empathy in participants towards persons with depression.

Upper Room uses evidence-based therapeutic modalities to support clients at three levels:

• Individual counselling helps with emotional stabilisation and management of maladaptive behaviours. Relapse management is explored through building youths’ socioemotional capacities.
• Family counselling and psychoeducation strengthen understanding and communication within the family system about the youths’ mental state and how support their recovery.
• Peer-support groupwork provides safety and acceptance for youths to share their lived experiences and learn coping skills.

This presentation explores the work which has been developed over the past eight years, sharing principles and guidelines of how to create bespoke parent groups within the school, and to develop them to suit the profile of your students and parent community.