News Room
News Room
Psychology is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s complex society. News about mental health issues and awareness headline our local media almost daily, with equal answers and commentaries written to discuss and support the psychological defence of our nation. Our Government has also introduced numerous frameworks and initiatives to strengthen our understanding of the multiple psychosocial issues that plague our society, pushing us to become more psychologically resilient.
With that in mind, SPS has decided to establish our own News Room – a repository of carefully-curated articles run by volunteers to help readers and professionals stay updated on current local news about psychology. Our News Room will primarily feature articles from our local news platforms, such as The Straits Times and CNA, and also international news that may affect Singapore. However, as we seek to include as many articles in our News Room, our repository should act as a starting point for readers to be kept updated and not meant to be exhaustive.
We welcome all volunteers to contribute to this News Room. Read on and get psyched!
Year 2020
- Commentary: Decriminalising attempted suicide in Singapore does not mean less help for vulnerable people [CNA]
- Commentary: Have we medicalised loneliness? It’s society that’s broken [CNA]
- 60,000 subsidised outpatients seek treatment for mental disorders each year: Gan Kim Yong [CNA]
- Why complaining – Singapore’s favourite pastime – may benefit you [CNA]
- Always fighting with family during Chinese New Year? Here’s how to keep your cool [CNA]
- How to people: An adult’s guide to social skills, for those who were never taught [CNA]
- Health Check Podcast: Youth mental health: What to expect when seeking help? [The Straits Times]
- After surviving a major health scare, these survivors are paying it forward [CNA]
- Public service committed to provide ‘inclusive and mental health-friendly’ workplace: Chan Chun Sing [CNA]
- More admitted to drug rehab centre in 2019, driven by changes in law aimed at reducing relapse [CNA]
- Students learn about anxiety disorder through virtual reality [The Straits Times]
- Coronavirus: Psychological society lists 7 ways to manage panic following food, grocery buying sprees [The Straits Times]
- ST Singaporean of the Year 2019 helps others overcome mental health woes [The Straits Times]
- All stressed out by Covid-19 outbreak? Keep calm, free online counselling is at hand [The Straits Times]
- Parliament: Urgent need to improve affordability, accessibility and quality of mental healthcare, says NMP Anthea Ong [The Straits Times]
- More than 560 express interest in improving youth mental well-being, new network formed to coordinate efforts [The Straits Times]
- Government to publish advisory to help improve mental wellbeing in the workplace [CNA]
- Commentary: Many parents don’t know how to react when kids get bullied – and that’s okay [CNA]
- Schools to offer mental health lessons from 2021; more trips to Asian countries [CNA]
- Online portal to be set up to provide early support to couples considering divorce [CNA]
- Mental health support service for at-risk youths to be launched this year: MOH [CNA]
- Increased student care subsidy for lower-income families [CNA]
- Commentary: Will you hire and retain persons with mental health conditions? [CNA]
- Commentary: Eating disorders are about emotional pain – not food [CNA]
- Is your child a bully? How parents can spot the signs and what they should do [CNA]
- COVID-19 news making you anxious? Heed these expert tips on how to stay calm [CNA]
- Recalling a stressed jobless man and a crying elderly woman [The Straits Times]
- Over 6,600 calls made to National Care Hotline [The Straits Times]
- Coronavirus: Crying elderly woman, jobless man with strained family ties among callers to National Care Hotline [The Straits Times]
- Most employees keen to continue working from home after Covid-19 circuit breaker: Survey [The Straits Times]
- More than 6,600 calls to National Care Hotline, 500 volunteers have stepped up so far [The Straits Times]
- Firms advised to check in on employees working from home to ensure well-being [The Straits Times]
- Coronavirus: Employers urged to support workers’ mental well-being during outbreak [The Straits Times]
- Employers, workers can take steps to support mental well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: MOM [CNA]
- COVID-19: MSF keeping ‘close watch’ on domestic abuse cases as more reach out for help over circuit breaker period [CNA]
- Commentary: Putting in 50 hours while WFH, it’s a struggle to draw the line between work and home [CNA]
- ‘Not the same on Zoom’: For recovering addicts, why safe distancing could spell a relapse [CNA]
- Relationships in quarantine: How couples living together can remain happy [CNA]
- Psychology, podiatry and other allied health services re-classified as essential under COVID-19 circuit breaker: MOH [CNA]
- Forum: Everyone deserves a safe environment to heal and be cared for [The Straits Times]
- Anxiety, lethargy, loneliness: When early retirement doesn’t live up to expectations [CNA]
- COVID-19: Worries about pandemic see more calls to mental health helplines [CNA]
- ‘Is my anxiety normal?’: How Covid-19 may affect mental health [The Straits Times]
- National Care Hotline now ready for calls after 300 specialists volunteer to help man the 24-hour hotline [The Straits Times]
- COVID-19: Ensuring the elderly don’t become isolated during the outbreak [CNA]
- Parliament: Social services considered essential, will continue to operate from April 7 to May 4 [The Straits Times]
- Coronavirus: Mental health, the pandemic’s hidden crisis [The Straits Times]
- Commentary: Working together towards a zero-suicide Singapore [CNA]
- Commentary: Why clapping for COVID-19 carers feels so strangely uplifting [CNA]
- Covid-19 could take toll on people’s mental health, say experts [The Straits Times]
- COVID-19: Guarding against burnout, compassion fatigue and trauma in frontline healthcare workers [CNA]
- Commentary: Our approach to mental health needs to change. COVID-19 will force us to [CNA]
- Commentary: Don’t stress over your kids’ education this circuit breaker. There are other ways they are learning [CNA]
- Singapore landmarks turn blue to raise awareness of mental health during COVID-19 [CNA]
- Commentary: This circuit breaker is making us yearn for human interaction more [CNA]
- Life without bubble tea: How to cope with change during the pandemic [CNA]
- Commentary: We declare a goal of ending mental health stigma yet viciously mock the woman at Shunfu Market [CNA]
- Mental well-being during COVID-19: The rise of intimate sharing sessions with strangers [CNA]
- Mental health, job opportunities among issues raised by youths in engagement sessions [CNA]
- MSF-funded centres for vulnerable families, persons with disabilities to progressively open from Jun 2 [CNA]
- From virtual mindfulness classes to eating together online, companies are giving staff mental health support [Straits Times]
- Little red dot turns blue as iconic landmarks in Singapore light up for #SeeItBlue campaign [Straits Times]
- Low-income, vulnerable households to receive more coordinated, proactive support: MSF [CNA]
- Commentary: Cyberbullying just keeps getting worse. Even COVID-19 hasn’t dampened its spread [CNA]
- New SG Together action networks to be formed to address key issues like mental health [The Straits Times]
- Forum: Continue mental health support [The Straits Times]
- Bear in mind stresses of working from home, say MPs [The Straits Times]
- Commentary: Immobility during COVID-19 and its effects on our sleep, physical activity and well-being [CNA]
- Commentary: As therapy sessions move online, more may finally seek needed help [CNA]
- What makes some people more resilient and cope better than others? [CNA]
- How to find a meditation app for you: Harnessing technology for mindfulness [CNA]
- New work-from-home insurance plan covers mental health counselling and ergonomic injuries [The Straits Times]
- More seek mental health help from Belle the bot [The Straits Times]
- Forum: Look out for emotional, mental health of children [The Straits Times]
- Forum: Important to have an awareness and understanding of trauma [The Straits Times]
- $100k of new mental health fund for peer initiatives [The Straits Times]
- Coronavirus: Mental health issues rise during Malaysia’s partial shutdown [The Straits Times]
- Why we reach for nostalgia in times of crisis or a global pandemic [CNA]
- Saving face: Why do some people blush easily and is there a way to minimise it? [CNA]
- Rituals keep these athletes grounded – and they can help parents, too [CNA]
- Here’s how to take back control and manage stress levels during a pandemic [CNA]
- Expert-approved, mood-boosting tactics to keep tweens from boredom [CNA]
- COVID-19: One-stop mental health platform launched to match users with resources and helplines [CNA]
- Commentary: Does your kid take hours to sleep? Here’s how you can help [CNA]
- The Big Story: More S’poreans working from home report stress than front-line workers; more help for start-ups [The Straits Times]
- Steps to better support migrant workers’ mental, physical health [The Straits Times]
- Some driven to breaking point by stress during Covid-19 pandemic [The Straits Times]
- Shorter operating hours for National Care Hotline after dip in late-night calls [The Straits Times]
- People helping one another a silver lining amid Covid-19 crisis: Janil Puthucheary [The Straits Times]
- More working from home feel stressed than those on Covid-19 front line: Survey [The Straits Times]
- MOH to ensure Singapore has resources for coronavirus fight [The Straits Times]
- Help, the pandemic is driving me crazy [The Straits Times]
- Health screening for migrant workers to be reviewed: Tan See Leng [The Straits Times]
- Forum: Giving to others is a powerful form of self-care [The Straits Times]
- Fewer calls, so shorter operating hours for National Care Hotline [The Straits Times]
- Experts fear long-term effect on mental health [The Straits Times]
- Covid-19 will have a long-tail effect on mental health, experts predict [The Straits Times]
- Covid-19 heroes: Mental health advocates bridge support gaps online [The Straits Times]
- Covid-19 can give rise to mental health stresses, say experts [The Straits Times]
- Boosting social supports, safety nets: Helping Singaporeans get through Covid-19 [The Straits Times]
- Addendum to President’s Address: Covid-19 crisis underscores need to boost social support [The Straits Times]
- Addenda to President’s Address: Social mobility, training opportunities on MSF, MOE’s agenda [The Straits Times]
- A rewarding career helping children with autism lead productive lives [The Straits Times]
- SkillsFuture work-study programmes to become ‘mainstream pathway’ by 2025, benefit more students: Lawrence Wong [CNA]
- Rise in firms offering mental health support for staff but more can be done, say experts [CNA]
- Number of suicides among those in their 20s highest in Singapore [CNA]
- MOH will strengthen Singapore’s long-term healthcare system even as it fights COVID-19: Gan Kim Yong [CNA]
- Is your child an orchid, tulip or dandelion? How to raise highly sensitive kids [CNA]
- IN FOCUS: The challenges young people face in seeking mental health help [CNA]
- In uncertain times, beat stress and reset with these five-minute exercises [CNA]
- How children’s sleep habits have changed in the pandemic [CNA]
- Feeling like you’re going out of your mind? Consider your mindset [CNA]
- Experts say talking to strangers ‘enrich lives and offer novel experiences’ [CNA]
- Don’t be ashamed of those extra kilos – focus on these other things instead [CNA]
- Commentary: Why do you not feel like working from home? You’re probably procrastinating more [CNA]
- Commentary: How do we raise sons who will never hit women? [CNA]
- COVID 19: No spike in number of migrant worker suicides, says MOM [CNA]
- Authorities keep ‘close watch’ on suicide rates as experts lay out risk factors for young adults [CNA]
- MSF to strengthen social safety nets ensuring ‘no Singaporean is left behind’ amid COVID-19: Masagos Zulkifli [CNA]
- Commentary: Let’s move away from caning and corporal punishment for our kids [CNA]
- ‘Help’s out there, just ask’: How dementia day care helped, when grandpa kept getting lost [CNA]
- Battling pandemic fatigue: Some feel burned out as Covid-19 outbreak drags on with no end in sight [The Straits Times]
- AskST@NLB talk looks at how to cope with job worries [The Straits Times]
- Parenting in a pandemic: How to take care of yourself and your kids [The Straits Times]
- Commentary: Are our neighbourhood chat groups starting to be a pain? [CNA]
- Commentary: Physical punishment and why few parents openly admit they cane, smack or spank [CNA]
- Think you’ve OCD? You may just be a neat freak: We take a peek into an extremely organised HDB home [AsiaOne]