More GPs, polyclinics trained to provide mental health services in national well-being push

SINGAPORE: About 480 general practitioners (GPs) across Singapore have gone through training to diagnose and treat mental health patients.
Similarly, 22 of the nation’s 26 polyclinics have been equipped to provide mental health services, as Singapore seeks to build an extensive support network around the community.
By 2030, all family doctors under Singapore’s Healthier SG preventive care programme and all polyclinics will be able to do so.
These efforts fall under a national mental health and well-being strategy launched last year to expand capacity of mental health services to provide holistic and timely support to those at risk.
Family physician Mark Yap said that by bringing such services closer to people’s homes, those with mental health issues may feel more encouraged to seek help.
Patients may feel more at ease at a clinic, rather than going to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), which could prompt concerns of being stigmatised, Dr Yap added.
The GP, who practises at Cashew Medical and Surgery in Bukit Panjang, said: “By decentralising it, by getting GPs as partners, it will go a long way to help destigmatise mental health and allow more patients to seek help in a timely manner.”
Associate Professor Swapna Verma said building up mental health services in the community is crucial as early detection and intervention can lead to prevention.
“Early intervention makes a big difference to recovery,” the chairman of IMH’s medical board told CNA’s Singapore Tonight programme.
“By making care more accessible and convenient, people will seek help early, and that would prevent their condition from becoming more serious … and preventing them from needing hospitalisation or specialist care.”
Additionally, individuals at risk of developing mental health conditions can turn to community outreach teams for support. 
For those presenting moderate symptoms, GPs will work with community intervention teams to provide assessment, psychosocial therapeutic intervention, counselling and medical treatment.
By 2030, the Ministry of Health (MOH) aims to expand the number of outreach teams and intervention teams to 90 and 50 respectively, including 15 teams each for youths.
Among several social service agencies involved in such community initiatives is the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH). 
The non-profit conducts community education and outreach activities on mental wellness, and provides counselling both online and on-site across nine locations in Singapore.
One of its creative therapeutic intervention programmes is art therapy, where participants express and process their thoughts and emotions through art.
The SAMH Space2Connect centre along Maude Road is currently hosting an exhibition showcasing unique artwork from 12 youths on how cultural and childhood experiences have shaped their mental well-being.
The association’s executive director Ngo Lee Yian said the youths underwent three months of art-making process, facilitated by programme executives who are trained in art therapy.
“They try to access their memories, how they have gone through their childhood, and they came up with the various art modalities to express themselves,” she said.
At least one in seven people in Singapore has experienced a mental disorder, according to MOH’s last mental health survey in 2016.
The top common mental health issues Singaporeans face include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and alcohol use disorder.
Assoc Prof Verma said concerns have arisen over the rising prevalence of mental illness, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly among youths.
“People still sometimes view it as a personal weakness, or they feel that patients with mental illness are dangerous. That creates a lot of stigma. The person with mental illness then worries about how society views him or her, and delays seeking help,” she said.
She added that awareness is integral to facilitate early detection.
By improving mental health literacy in youths and parents, they will be more likely to spot signs and symptoms in their family members or peers, and encourage them to seek help, she added.
“With knowledge comes understanding and acceptability. We need a society with more mental health literacy, (which) then becomes more understanding and inclusive,” said Assoc Prof Verma.
MOH said it will continue working on mental health initiatives to build resilience among youth, develop accessible first-stop touch points, and address mental health issues at workplaces.