Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak

There is no doubt there is a lot of uncertainty around the current COVID-19 outbreak, particularly given that the situation is constantly developing and the information about the virus remains incomplete.It is important to not only consider our physical health during such challenging times, but also to pay attention to our mental health. It is normal to feel worried, stressed and anxious when we are faced with uncertain situations, but the sooner we acknowledge and learn to take care of our mental health, the healthier and better equipped we’ll be to cope with the situation we’re having to face.

Taking care of your mental health and checking in on others can be something that we can all do, and there are many ways in which we can protect our own and others’ mental health. To help encourage this, Mind HK has developed a booklet with tips on managing your mental health and stay well during this time. Please find our downloadable booklets below – guidelines are available in English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, French, Somali, Urdu, Tagalog, Tamil and Bahasa Indonesia.

Please share this resource with friends, families, and colleagues, to help us best ensure everyone is making their mental well-being a priority at this time. 

Returning to Work: Managing Your Mental Health (Downloadable PDFs)

Returning to Work: Managing Your Mental Health (English)

Returning to Work: Managing Your Mental Health (Chinese)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Downloadable PDFs)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (English)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Chinese)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Bahasa Indonesia)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Simplified Chinese)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Tagalog)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (French)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Urdu)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Somali)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Arabic)

Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well during a Virus Outbreak (Tamil)

Supporting Employees to Stay Mentally Healthy in Unusual Working Conditions (CMHA HK)

Managing Mental Health during the Outbreak (Private Webinar)

Additional resources: 

Free/ Subsidised Psychological Services

  • Time to Heal: provides pro bono psychological therapy and service subsidy, and online resources for local individuals who have been affected by current situations.
      • Include 4-8 sessions of pro bono psychological services
      • HKD$7,000 subsidies for psychological or psychiatrical services
      • Applicants must be Hong Kong residents who have not sought public/private psychological/psychiatrical services in the past 2 years
      • Applicants should submit application form through a social worker
    • Tel.: 9010 2980
      Email: [email protected]
  • Care4ALL香港精神 – 同舟共行計劃: Provide free psychiatric consultation session and medication subsidy for people who are experiencing mental health distress due to recent events
      • up to 8 free psychiatric consultation session, and up to HKD$6,000 medication subsidy
      • Applicants must:
        • not been seen by public/private psychiatric services in the past 2 years
        • suspected mental health problem in relation to recent social events
        • currently not under any police investigation and legal disputes
      • Submit application form through a social worker or call directly to the enquiries hotline
      • Enquiries hotline: 6020 2493 (Phone/WhatsApp)
        Email: [email protected]
  • UCEP subsidised counselling services: Provide up to 8 subsidised counselling sessions for eligible individuals who are experiencing mood disturbance.
      • 8 subsidised individual counselling services or child and family counselling services
      • Eligibility
        • Individuals with eligible individual/ family income
        • Children, family, and students and their parents
      • Enquiries hotline: 2349 3212
        Email: [email protected]

Online counselling services

24-hour hotline counselling services

    • The Samaritans (Multilingual): 2896 0000
    • Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong 24-hour hotline (Cantonese only): 2389 2222
    • Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre 24-hour (Cantonese only): 18288

Other online resources

Mind HK’s Position Statement

Anyone in Hong Kong who needs help with their mental health can be assured that they are entitled to the full support of Mind HK, irrespective of their gender, race, background or beliefs.

To be effective and credible, Mind HK operate as a neutral and impartial humanitarian charity without any political affiliations or other conflicts of interest.

The work we do, especially our research, is dedicated to improving the health of vulnerable groups and maintaining the best mental health possible for all of Hong Kong.

We hope that anyone reporting or commenting on our work will respect and support our independence and neutrality.

More about our position and mission and vision here.
If you have any ideas or resources, which you think may be useful for us to share, please email us at [email protected].

For urgent support, please visit our Find Help Now page.
For non-urgent support, please visit our community directory.