Opposing Views
Can renaming IMH really tackle longstanding mental health stigma?
The Institute of Mental Health is set to be renamed. Is this mere semantics, or the start of a bigger shift?
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Following years of attempts to reshape the national conversation on mental health and tackle stigma, some feel that the change of name and the rebranding could move the needle on this score.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) will be redeveloped, expanded and renamed the National Centre for Mental Health Singapore (NCMHS) in 2027. Following years of attempts to reshape the national conversation on mental health and tackle stigma, some feel that the change of name and the rebranding could move the needle on this score. The Straits Times’ Opinion editor Lin Suling and correspondent Grace Yeoh discuss.
Grace: If I had one word to describe my reaction to the news, it’d be scepticism. I’m not sure how impactful a name change will be – especially since IMH was already renamed from Woodbridge Hospital in 1993, and that didn’t really change public attitudes towards mental health. There is certainly more awareness now, but awareness hasn’t quite translated into acceptance.