Registration link: www.eventbrite.com/e/503121809877

Therapy is still a mystery to most of us seeking treatment. Have you ever wondered what happens in a therapy session? How does it work? Will it be suitable for you?

Therapy sessions can seem daunting, especially for first-timers, but knowing what to expect from the therapy can make it less stressful for you. Let’s hear from us and those with lived experiences.

Co-hosted by Mind HK’s More Than A Label and our Youth Wellbeing Practitioner (YWP) programme, the sharing event will feature an in-depth conversation covering all these questions you might have about going to therapy, along with our Mind HK ambassadors who will share their personal experiences and how therapy has helped them throughout their journey of recovery.

The Mind HK and MINDSET Youth Wellbeing Practitioner (YWP) programme is a youth mental health initiative designed and developed by Mind HK, aiming to make mental health support more accessible by training new therapists (YWPs) to provide free, evidence-based mental health support to young people between 12-24 in Hong Kong. We are pleased to announce that free mental health support sessions are now available online, for young people aged 18-24 to receive support from the comfort of their own. Tune in to the sharing to learn more about online therapy as a flexible, convenient alternative to in-person sessions.

Whether you are struggling to seek treatment for your mental health challenges or looking for ways to support your friends and families who are facing such challenges, you are welcome to join us in this sharing session to unlock all your mysteries about therapy, and as a guide to finding the treatment suitable for your needs.

 

Event details:

Date & Time: 18 Jan, 2023 (Wednesday) 6:30PM – 7:30PM (HKT)

Mode: Zoom Live Event

Moderator: Karen Lau(Mind HK clinical advisor)

Guest: Annissa (Mind HK Ambassador), Coby (Mind HK Ambassador) and Rachel Wong (Mind HK Assistant Programme Manager (YWP and PWP)

Language: Cantonese

 

Guest:

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.

 

Coby, Mind HK Ambassador:

Coby is a former Accountant and now works as a Mental Health Support Worker at a psychiatric hostel. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018 and has been living in recovery for 3 years. She has a creative mind and enjoys watercolour painting, western cooking and gardening. Her dream is to use her experience to inspire others and reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Rachel Wong, YWP & PWP Mind HK Assistant Programme Manager (YWP and PWP)

Rachel joined Mind HK in March 2021 and serves as the Youth Wellbeing Practitioner Programme Service Coordinator, where she assists with stakeholder engagement, budgeting and overall project management. Rachel brings over four years of experience managing international and local projects in both the private and public sector in Hong Kong, with her previous job as an Assistant Program Manager at a local NGO. Having seen the impact that untreated mental health issues can have on friends and family, Rachel is committed to raising awareness of mental health issues and creating more conversation to help destigmatise mental health issues.

 

Karen Lau, Clinical Advisor, PWP

Karen joined Mind HK as a Clinical Advisor in August 2021. She is a Clinical Psychologist who has received her psychology training in institutions across the Asia-Pacific region (NUS, HKU and ANU) so as to better serve people facing challenges in these unique contexts.

Karen has a special interest in supporting adults and youths who struggle with specific anxiety disorders. Her expertise also extends to conditions relating to chronic self-harm, complex PTSD, and BPD. In helping her clients overcome these challenges, Karen applies comprehensive evidence-based treatments including CBT, DBT, ACT, Compassion Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Schema Therapy.

Apart from her clinical work, Karen is serving Médecins Sans Frontières as a Mental Health Supervisor overseeing psychosocial projects. She is also a Visiting Lecturer in Psychology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Karen dedicates much of her time to humanitarian work. She has served in Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, Mongolia, Mainland China and the Philippines. With UNICEF, she has also advocated for children’s welfare in Hong Kong and the Philippines. Karen is devoted to combining her love for humanitarian work and clinical skills to help others learn, heal and grow.

 

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About More Than a Label 

“More than a Label 我就是我” is a Mind HK campaign in partnership with MINDSET, which stems from its goal of changing and influencing the public’s perception towards persons with diagnosable mental health conditions. Funded by Jardines Matheson, this campaign encourages the public to look beyond the typical, stigmatising, labels associated with mental health diagnoses. Through personal stories of mental health journeys, we want to showcase realistic portrayals of people who have faced mental health problems and recovered and depict their holistic identity.

With this campaign, we hope to raise awareness of the stigma towards persons with mental health conditions, celebrate the resilience and strength of people in recovery, and educate and equip the public with mental health knowledge. We believe this will facilitate more conversation in mental health, which will in turn help destigmatise mental health in Hong Kong.

About Youth Wellbeing Practitioner (YWP) Programme

In 2021, Mind HK and MINDSET launched a new mental health pilot project – the Youth Wellbeing Practitioner (YWP) Programme.

In Hong Kong, those who require mental health support are often faced with a dilemma; either they are met with long waiting times at public hospitals, or they are forced to seek private treatment which can come at a high cost. At present, the waiting time for the intake of new cases at the psychiatric specialist out-patient clinics (PSY SOPCs), ranges from 14 to 64 weeks for stable cases (HA, 2022).

Mind HK believes that by increasing the support capacity in Hong Kong and adopting an early intervention approach, we can make a positive difference to the mental health landscape, and reduce the existing strain on healthcare services.

Based on a model similar to the UK’s Children and Young People’s Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP-IAPT) initiative, this project aims to bridge the gap in mental health services in Hong Kong, and increase access to mental health support for youth (aged 12-24) in Hong Kong. This is achieved by training practitioners to deliver free, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based, low-intensity, manualised and guided self-help interventions.

So far, we trained 50 practitioners in June – July 2022. On completion of their theoretical training, these practitioners have been placed in host organisations in community settings to deliver free support to youth facing mild to moderate mental health problems in need till July 2023.