Subang Jaya’s mental health initiative addresses the issue of mental health from a community-based wellness approach focusing on resilience-building.
If you’re depressed, suicidal, confused or lost, do not suffer in silence. This is the message that SJ Care Warriors, a mental wellness initiative, wants to send to Malaysians from all walks of life.
SJ Warriors is a programme initiated by Subang Jaya Assemblywoman YB Michelle Ng and supported by a team of medical and non-medical volunteers. “Too many incidences of suicide and people living with depression. We need to build resilience, a resilient community,” says Ng.
She also recalled visiting a family at a funeral of their child who took her life and what struck her (Ng) the most was when one of the parents said she wished she knew what to do. It was then that Ng realised that mental health, wellness and stress management was knowledge that could be learnt. SJ Care Warriors was launched on March 31, 2019 and is now gaining steam with its focus on empowering the community to self-help and help others.
Approaching A Sensitive Issue
Theirs is a two-prong approach namely gatekeeper training on suicide prevention by a team of clinical psychologists & psychiatrists and secondly, a team of experts with psychology and counselling background whose role is to provide a bridge to tackle the issues of mental health.
This begins from a wellness-oriented approach to building resilience at the community level and amongst the youth in general. “This is not just a suicide prevention task force but also an initiative to empower youths to build resilience by maintaining a healthy mental state. “The wisdom to know that it is okay to be sad, what can they do when faced with adversity, stress and rejection without hurting themselves,” adds Ng.
Among the challenges that needs to be overcome in order to implement self-help include stigma, culture and a mindset admitting that the person has a mental health problem.
Helping Them Step By Step
The Building Resilience Program is designed by psychologists and backed by universities which sees volunteer psychologists delivering this program to counsellors and youth volunteers. By learning to better manage their mental state of well-being, these youths are able to empower and impart skills such as creativity in problem-solving; demonstrate empathy, compassion & kindness; and help navigate those in need to the relevant places and avenues where accessible and accurate help is provided accordingly.
All youths who have fully completed the two-day program will be given a certificate of attendance and a collar pin. They can then spread the wisdom they learn to their peers and immediate families.
The second part is a gatekeeper training by clinical psychologists and psychiatrists aiming to train community leaders to identify warning signs of suicide. This is a community and citizen empowerment as well as engagement program.
Associate Professor with the Department of Psychological Medicine, University Malaya and consultant psychiatrist in University Malaya Medical Centre Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin lists the many places people with mental health issues can go to in order to seek help. They include the Health Ministry’s Klinik Kesihatan or Family Medicine Specialist Clinic which will then provide a referral letter to seek help at the government hospital’s psychiatric clinic.
Next is the University Malaya Medical Centre’s psychiatric clinic which accepts walk-ins on Monday to Friday at between 8am and 10am. “Having obtained a referral letter from Klinik Kesihatan or private clinic, patients can consult doctors at university hospitals at UKM, UPM, UITM, UIA and USM. Those seeking help can also walk-in to private clinics or hospitals,” says Dr Amer Siddiq who is also member of the SJ Care Warriors Advisory Council.
In September 2018, Malaysia Mental Health Association (MMHA) raised the red flag and highlighted that over the past year, there has been an increase in terms of suicidal behavior among adolescents in Malaysia. In the meantime, recent events in the region have renewed the global concern for mental health.
The Price We Pay
The cost of healthcare for mental illnesses, according to Frost & Sullivan is set to rise to a whopping US$6 trillion in 2030 annually from $2.5 trillion in 2010.
The global treatment gap in 2004 for disorders such as depression and anxiety was more than 50% and more than half of these patients went untreated. The situation has not changed significantly in 2018.
Currently, mental health issues are addressed mainly at hospitals and also at the primary care level. Complementary community based mental health initiatives and advocacy need to be much more well-integrated into the mental health service eco-system.
ABOUT SJ CARE WARRIORS
The Subang Jaya Care Warriors concept looks at a two-prong approach to tackle the issue of mental health namely gatekeeper training on suicide prevention by a team of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, and secondly, a team of wellness experts whose role is to provide a bridge to tackle this issue starting from a wellness-oriented approach to building resilience at the community level and amongst the youth in general. Youths are empowered to better manage their mental state of well-being and are able to impart the wisdom of mindfulness, spread loving kindness, and help navigate those in need of care to the relevant places and avenues where accurate and quick help is provided accordingly.
For more information on the Subang Jaya Care Warriors program, please reach out to june.liang@frost.com
