Helping youth improve mental health amid rising pressures
The recent River Valley High School alleged murder has cast mental health issues faced by children and youth into the spotlight. The Sunday Times looks at what some of these issues are and how they can be addressed
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Flowers placed at River Valley High School last week, after a 16-year-old student allegedly killed a 13-year-old schoolmate on Monday. The subject of mental well-being among the young has taken on a new urgency in public discourse following the incident.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Gabrielle Ng, Goh Yan Han, Ang Qing
When Ms Jamie Tan was nine, she struggled to come to terms with her parents' divorce, which eventually led her to self-harm in primary school. Despite turning to two co-curricular activities in secondary school to distract herself, she would occasionally skip school or have meltdowns.
She got professional help at 15, and was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety. Now 20, Ms Tan, a polytechnic student, hopes to be a psychologist to help youth struggling with mental health.