New webinar series offers Asean expert perspectives on mental health

SINGAPORE - Professionals and members of the public who want to learn more about mental health issues from experts in Asean can now do so through a webinar series spanning eight sessions from Monday (March 7) to April 25.

The Mental Health in Asia Programme, which aims to bring together regional and local policymakers, professionals, specialists and academics, was launched by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Temasek Foundation on Monday.

Each week, experts from various Asean countries will discuss a different topic, such as youth mental health and suicide prevention.

Associate Professor Daniel Fung, IMH's chief executive officer, noted that mental health professionals in Singapore and other Asean countries have many things in common in their practices.

"These include managing issues such as stigma, debilitating effects of mental illness, integrated care for physical and mental illness, but chief of all in the current climate is the impact of the (Covid-19) pandemic on population mental health and care delivery," he said.

Guest of honour Mohamad Maliki Osman, Second Minister For Foreign Affairs and Second Minister For Education, said that like pandemics, mental health issues also transcend geographical boundaries and age groups.

"I hope that this webinar will serve as a platform for participants to exchange best practices, insights and latest data on mental health issues in the Asean region," said Dr Maliki, adding that he also hoped the webinar would inspire a call to action in the region.

Mr Benedict Cheong, chief executive of Temasek Foundation International, said: "We hope that this programme can serve as a platform for regional stakeholders to network, collaborate and build on efforts to continue destigmatising mental illness and find ways to help those in need of mental health support."

Those who wish to sign up for the webinar series, which is free, may do so here.