National mental health initiatives: Youth need more than social media as outlet, employers hindered by care costs, experts say

SINGAPORE — It is not enough to raise awareness among youth on mental health issues, but they should be taught how and when to get help in times of  distress. For workers, some government funding and leadership may help incentivise employers so that they may take steps to support the mental well-being of their employees.

These were some of the points raised by mental health practitioners and business leaders who spoke to TODAY in response to initial recommendations laid out by a national task force to enhance people’s mental well-being.

They would also like public conversations on the topic to go beyond the listed proposals and cover areas such as suicide prevention, even though public engagement has been going on since the multi-agency task force was formed last July.

Mental health practitioners told TODAY that although they have seen more enquiries by companies regarding employee assistance programmes that offer counselling services since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, not as many employers have signed up with such programmes.

Mental health practitioners told TODAY that although they have seen more enquiries by companies regarding employee assistance programmes that offer counselling services since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, not as many employers have signed up with such programmes.