[English event] Making Mental Health and Well-being a Priority in Hong Kong

Join Mind HK to hear from experts from a variety of backgrounds working on improving mental health in Hong Kong to hear how we can collaboratively make mental health a priority in Hong Kong.

We are pleased to host our Mind HK Ambassador, Annissa, who will share her lived experiences with mental health, and representatives from Meta, Our Hong Kong Foundation, and Mind HK, to have a fruitful discussion.

This interactive panel event is being held in honour of this year’s World Mental Health Day theme of “Making Mental Health & Well-being for All a Global Priority”. Recent research from Mind HK showed that an estimated 1 in 5 in Hong Kong are experiencing a mental health problem – Hong Kong has undergone a difficult few years and as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that mental health and well-being needs to be considered a higher priority on both an individual and systemic level. Learn more about our speakers and the event below

“Whilst the pandemic has, and continues to, take its toll on our mental health, the ability to reconnect through World Mental Health Day 2022 will provide us with an opportunity to re-kindle our efforts to protect and improve mental health… The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis for mental health, fueling short- and long-term stresses and undermining the mental health of millions. Estimates put the rise in both anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic. At the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.” – World Health Organisation

Event Details:

Date: 13/10 (Thursday)

Time: 5 – 6:30 pm

Platform: Zoom

Language: English (Cantonese simultaneous translation available）

Register link: bit.ly/MMHPHK221013

Speakers:

Dr Candice Powell, Chief Executive Officer, Mind HK

Dr Pamela Tin, Head of Healthcare & Social Development Research, Our Hong Kong Foundation

Dr Timothy Woo, Wellness Response Partner, Meta

Annissa, Mind HK Ambassador

Rundown:

5-5:10: Introduction: Why mental health and well-being needs to be made a priority in Hong Kong

5:10 – 5:55: Panel

5:55 – 6:15: Q&A

About our Speakers

Annissa, Mind HK Ambassador

Annissa is no stranger to mental health growing up, living in recovery with anxiety and depression. She hopes to be a voice for people who are struggling, feeling misunderstood, unheard or not seen. She wants to lead by example and show how transformative it is to share your story.

Dr. Timothy Woo, Wellness Response Partner, Meta

Timothy Woo is a Global Wellness Response Partner at Meta, addressing and intervening with mental health crises among Meta employees. He also consistently collaborates globally among EAP providers to address pain points that require accountability to ensure more fluid services for Meta employees, with different cross functional partners.

Timothy has over 15 years of professional experience in working with adults and young people. Prior to his work at Meta, Timothy has worked with organisations such as the Canadian international School of Hong Kong as the Wellbeing Guidance Counsellor, the YMCA as a Youth Employment Officer, Grandview Children’s Centre, an outpatient rehabilitation hospital for children with special needs as the adolescent Social Worker and therapist, World Vision Canada as a regional representative, ISF Academy as a Senior Counsellor, and with KELY Support Group as a Programme Coordinator, where he currently sits on their board of directors as well.

Timothy received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in social work from York University, and his doctoral degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. With a focus on family resilience and adolescent depression, Timothy is passionate about contributing to the field of mental health such that all people understand their inherent value and are able to see the potential impact that they have in the community and world around them.

Dr Pamela Tin, Head of Healthcare & Social Development Research, Our Hong Kong Foundation

Pam received her PhD from the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong. With experience in both academic and public policy research, she is dedicated to improving health and social policies through research and advocacy to promote the holistic wellbeing of all persons in society. Pam and her team at OHKF have published high-profile policy papers on various topics ranging from primary healthcare, health workforce to health resource allocation that have put forward recommendations adopted by the Hong Kong SAR Government. Notably, the policy paper ‘Fit for Purpose: A Health System for the 21st Century’ published in November 2018 was named ‘Best Policy Study/Report Produced by a Think Tank’ by the University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ‘2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index’. Pam is an active commentator of these topics on various forms of media and shares her thoughts at professional forums and seminars.

Pam is a member of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Advisory Committee on Mental Health and Mind HK Youth Wellbeing Practitioners Research & Clinical Steering Committee. She is also a mentor for the Hong Kong Life Sciences Society Mentorship Scheme.

Dr. Candice Powell, Chief Executive Officer, Mind HK

Dr. Candice Powell joined Mind HK as Chief Executive Officer in September 2022. She is trained as a clinical psychologist at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before joining Mind HK, she worked at New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, one of Hong Kong’s largest community mental health NGOs, for 13 years. She is an honorary lecturer at The University of Hong Kong and a fellow of The Hong Kong Psychological Society, vice-chair of the Division of Clinical Psychology of HKPS, and a training officer of the Association of Contextual and Behavioural Science (Hong Kong Chapter). She is an awardee of Hong Kong Professional Elite Ladies Selection 2022.

Candice is diversely trained in evidence-based psychological intervention. Apart from being a practitioner, she is also a rigorous researcher and widely published in academic journals and presented her study findings at local and international conferences. She has developed innovative intervention programmes for improving people’s mental health and well-being. She introduced Mindful Parenting, digitised Unified Protocol for emotional disorders, and established a stepped-care psychological service in Hong Kong. She hopes everyone with emotional distress can easily access quality psychological services.