More young people seeking help on mental health

More young people have sought help for their mental health in the past year, said psychologists.

There were three times more child cases at Annabelle Psychology in the past year than in the same period between 2020 and 2021, said Ms Kimberly Chew, a psychologist at the practice's partner Annabelle Kids.

Amid yet another year marked by Covid-19, she said, parents have also been worrying more about their children, following the death of a 13-year-old student - allegedly murdered by a Secondary 4 student - at River Valley High School on July 19 last year.

She added: "Many parents reported feeling helpless or powerless because they could not safeguard their children 24/7.

"Overall, I believe that the incident definitely drew more attention to the importance of mental health and that emotional difficulties in youth should be taken more seriously."

Also noting an increase in the number of young people seeking help at her clinic is senior forensic psychologist June Fong of Promises Healthcare. She said there were a lot more new inquiries from parents of schoolchildren after the incident, but the number tapered off after about six months.

The concerns were over issues such as anger management and friendship and family ties.

Ms Fong added: "I think the incident... has actually opened a lot of parents' eyes to the stressors that children are facing, while previously they might have just brushed them aside and dismissed them."

Mr Gasper Tan, chief executive of Samaritans of Singapore, said it has seen a 127 per cent rise in the number of 10-to 19-year-olds calling its 24-hour hotline and using its text-based service in 2021 over 2020.

He said that while there has been more discussion of mental health in the past year, efforts to normalise such conversations must continue.