IMH’s Medical Social Work (MSW)

department has been collaborating with the

Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to offer

care coordination support and training to

care centres and nursing homes. The aim is

to enable staff there to manage challenging

behaviours presented by some of their

residents with mental health conditions and

provide better care for them. This means

that patients with mental health conditions

have better chances of living in the

community for a longer term.

To ensure that IMH can render timely

support to the homes, Lee Kaiyi, Senior

MSW, IMH, is the appointed Single Point of

Contact for nursing home staff who face

difficulty in managing patients at their

facilities. In this role, Kaiyi, who is a recipient

of the Promising Social Worker Award 2016,

also coordinates the joint management of

residents who relapsed while in the homes,

and who needed readmission to IMH.

Since February 2016, the team has

conducted three training workshops with

IMH and 14 key community mental health partners joined hands to

organise a mass walk “Walk with us, Stamp out Stigma” along

Orchard Road on 8 October 2016 to commemorate World Mental

Health Day. The event, a first to be co-organised by the partners,

aimed to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in

personal wellbeing and to combat stigmatising attitudes towards

people with mental health conditions.

More than 1,200 participants took part in the walk, including Guest

of Honour, Speaker of Parliament and MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee

GRC Madam Halimah Yacob. Besides drumming up participation

for the walk, the community partners also organised a mini carnival

at *SCAPE that featured public outreach activities, talks and

performances.

The partners involved in the event were Agency for Integrated Care,

Alzheimer’s Disease Association, Brahm Centre, Caregivers Alliance

Limited, Clarity Singapore Limited, Club HEAL, Health Promotion

Board, MINDSET Care, National Council of Social Service, O’Joy

Care Services, Silver Ribbon Singapore, Singapore Anglican

Community Services, Singapore Association for Mental Health and

Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities. Plans are already underway for the

next World Mental Health Day event in 2017!

Stamp Out Stigma

Mdm Halimah Yacob, Speaker of Parliament and MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, leading the walk down

Orchard Road

Care Coordination and Trainingfor Residential Care Facilities

more than 200 staff from three care centres

and 20 nursing homes in attendance. The

trainers include MSWs, doctors and

Advanced Psychiatric Nurses from IMH.

Over 90% of the participants found these

workshops beneficial in helping them with

their day-to-day management of residents

with mental health conditions.

In addition, the MSWs conduct site visits and

provide assistance and counselling to staff at

these homes when there are critical incidents

involving patients with mental health conditions.

Carnival-goers enjoying the game booths

IMHLINKOCT - DEC

2016

AN IMH QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR PARTNERS

Serious games are designed for a primary purpose rather than pure entertainment. It is a

growing field of gaming technology which encourages learning and engagement through

mobile games. The team from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department at IMH

developed an innovative concept for

a mobile app that aims to bring

about better care for children with

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD).

The concept for the app named

ADHD Village: It Takes a Village to

Raise a Child is a virtual village that

promotes collaboration among

educators, caregivers and clinicians,

enabling close monitoring of the

children’s progress. This “village” also

serves as a platform for parents to

exchange ideas and tips within the

network as well as to gain access to

available resources.

In September this year, the team

behind the ADHD Village app competed among 100 others in the Health Innovation

Technology (HIT) Challenge 2016 and emerged as one of the top 10 finalists for their

concept. The HIT Challenge is jointly organised by the Infocomm Media Development

Authority of Singapore, National Healthcare Group, and Serious Games Association

Singapore. The team is currently seeking funding to develop the app.

App for Better ADHD Care

Since the beginning of the year, IMH has

grouped patients into four zones (East,

West, North and South) according to their

residential address and assigned them to a

fixed care team so that patients may receive

better continuity of care. With this

approach, patients see members of the

same multi-disciplinary team throughout

their care journey - from prevention, early

detection, treatment, and long-term care, to

support in the community.

This approach, called empanelment, is the

basis for population health management

and is one of the ways IMH is transforming

care delivery to achieve more seamless care

for our patients.

To do this, IMH has streamlined its

operational workflow and communications

processes for the inpatient, outpatient,

transitional, community, and allied health

settings for better care integration. For

instance, our staff now conduct a needs

analysis for discharged patients and link

them to appropriate care resources and

support in the community.

Another key initiative implemented under

empanelment is the assignment of a Single

Point of Contact (SPOC) to each patient.

The SPOC, identified based on the patient’s

needs, allows the patient and caregivers to

have fast and consistent access to

information when they require assistance or

have any queries.

The SPOC will also help to link patients and

caregivers to relevant services both within

IMH and the community. To this end, a

community resource list, based on

geographical region, for each panel of care

team has been compiled. The community

resource list is a comprehensive document

describing the capabilities and services

provided by the various community partners

within each region. Detailed referral

instructions and forms are also appended

within this document. With this list, the

SPOCs can match suitable community

partners to patients’ needs and make

appropriate referrals conveniently.

The next step is for each panel to establish

their own care and support networks with

One Patient, One Care Team

the community. The teams will focus on

developing closer working relationships with

our primary and community care partners in

the four zones so that our patients are

supported by community agencies that are

familiar with them. IMH is also looking to put

in place a single point of contact in the

community for our patients, just as they have

a single point of contact in IMH.

IMH’s Research Division is

spearheading the second nationwide

epidemiological study to establish the

mental health status of adult Singapore

residents. The survey, known as the

Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS)

2016, is a collaborative effort between

IMH, Ministry of Health (MOH) and

Nanyang Technological University. This

three-year, $4.9 million project is

funded by MOH and Singapore

Millennium Foundation of the Temasek

Trust.

The first SMHS conducted in 2010 had

successfully provided baseline

information on the mental health status

of Singapore adults. In addition to

evaluating changes in the prevalence,

risk factors and healthcare needs for

common mental illnesses such as

mood, anxiety and addiction disorders

in the previous study, the second

SMHS will also establish the prevalence

and impact of other key mental

conditions such as schizophrenia,

suicidality and hoarding. The societal

cost for mental disorders will also be

estimated.

Over the next one year, a total of 6,000

Singapore adult residents will be

interviewed across Singapore. This

second SMHS is timely and important

as it will also help evaluate the impact

of the various initiatives within the

National Mental Health Blueprint

targeted toward improving awareness

and accessibility of mental healthcare

services and enhancing the mental

health status of the population in

Singapore.

SingaporeMentalHealthStudy 2016

Team members from IMH: (from left to right) Ms Kala

Mehrotra, Principal Educational Psychologist, Ms Serena Lim,

Senior Special Education Teacher and Ms Suhana Manzur,

Senior Educational Psychologist

Strengthening Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange Mental health affects everyone and mental

health issues need to be addressed at all

stages, spanning the efforts and resources

of different agencies across the spectrum

of care.

To consolidate knowledge, coordinate

support and encourage cross-sector

collaborative efforts more effectively, regular

networking events were first introduced in

2010. The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC),

Health Promotion Board (HPB), National

Council of Social Service (NCSS) and IMH –

have been jointly driving these yearly

platforms since.

This year’s Mental Health Networking Event

took place on 29 November, with a focus on

caregivers and caring for the elderly and

those with mental illness and disabilities.

Speakers from AIC and Caregivers Alliance

Limited (CAL) enlightened attendees on

existing services for caregivers, while NCSS

presented their design ethnography study,

which looks into difficulties faced by

caregivers navigating the care system. NCSS

also provided suggestions for new services

to better meet caregivers’ needs. Mdm Malar

Singam, Brahm Centre’s speaker also shared

her personal caregiving journey, which

encouraged many. The programme ended

with a lively and informative panel discussion.

More than 180 staff from the healthcare,

social service, and intermediate- and

long-term care sectors were present. Many

shared positive feedback on the opportunity

to learn about the larger landscape of

caregiving services in Singapore, as well as

the chance to network with others in the

mental health community.

Writing always came naturally to me but juggling motherhood

with life in the corporate world left me with little time to

indulge in writing. It was only in my late forties, when I

stopped working full-time, that I rekindled my love for

writing. I quickly realised how much pleasure it gave

me to be able to write at length. Writing also allowed

me to focus on something meaningful and gave me

the purpose and stability I needed.

Ever since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder

more than ten years ago, I have been diligent

about my medication. When I started writing my

first book in 2010, I wondered about my

medication’s impact on creativity. Halfway

through my manuscript, I was convinced

that I could write better by lowering my

dosage. I began to self-regulate my

medication and quickly realised it was

a mistake. My moods were less

stable and I was afraid to suffer a

relapse. So I resumed my dosage as

prescribed by my doctor and

continued writing.

When writing, especially when

I need to rely on my imagination,

I am tempted to lower my

dosage. But the risk is too great.

I tell myself it is not worth the

pain and agony for myself and

my family. With proper

medication, it might take me

longer to write, to create

characters and scenes and

dialogue but to me, extra time is a

small price to pay.

In late 2012, my memoir, Praying To The

Goddess Of Mercy, was published. Spurred by

the success of my first book, I began writing my

second book. My novel, Rain Tree, was launched at the

Singapore Writers Festival in November this year. Within

weeks, Rain Tree was placed on Kinokuniya’s “Essential

Reads” shelf. It was a triumphant

moment for me.

I am now working on my third book while

taking my prescribed dosage of medicine.

While some medication may compromise

creativity, I believe determination, along with

diligent medication and regular visits to my doctor,

prevail in how I function in day-to-day living.

Rain Tree is available at Kinokuniya.

MY SAY On Creativity

and Medication By Mahita Vas

Speaker and panellist, Dr Sally Thio from CAL responding

to a question from the floor during the panel discussion.

Season’s Greetings!AdvisorTing Mei See

Circulation CoordinatorChris Ngiam

EditorLalitha Naidu

DesignerNg Yee Choo

EDITORIAL TEAMContributorsFiona Foo, Corporate Communications

Vera Soo, Corporate Communications

Ng Si Jia, Corporate Communications

Lee Kaiyi, Medical Social Work

Siti Sohanah Binte Kasmani, Medical Social Work

Wu Peiqi, Community Psychiatry

Vaingankar Janhavi Ajit, Research Division

Institute of Mental Health, Singapore t (65) 6389 2000 | f (65) 6389 2986 | www.imh.com.sg | enquiry@imh.com.sg

ASKTHE EXPERT

What is Motivational Interviewing? Motivational Interviewing (MI) is both a treatment philosophy and

a set of techniques which focus on the potential benefits of

change. MI is used to bring out and strengthen the motivation for

behaviour change. It is collaborative and respects an individual’s

choices, even if the individual chooses not to change.

How does MI work?MI draws on the individual’s own motivation and commitment by

examining his current behaviour and how it fits with his value

system. The main goal is to move the individual’s conversation

from sustain talk to change talk. For example, we want to move

the conversation from “I don’t have a problem and I am fine

where I am at the moment” (sustain talk) to “I think I should

change” or “I don’t think I can carry on this way anymore”

(change talk).

MI focuses on partnership and teamwork between the

practitioner and the individual. The MI practitioner is on equal

footing with the individual, highlighting his/her personal strengths

and instances where the individual had made behavioural

changes that reaped benefits. The MI practitioner draws out the

individual’s own thoughts and ideas about behavioural change,

rather than impose his own opinions and agendas.

When is MI used? It is used when an individual’s behaviour is affecting him or people

around him in a negative way. Sometimes the individual has difficulty

changing because he does not know how. At other times the individual

is simply indecisive about changing; MI helps to give clarity on the pros

and cons of changing.

MI was originally developed to treat problem drinkers. Through clinical

experience and research, MI has been found to be effective in various

settings. It is now also used to help those with substance use disorders

and individuals in education, prisons, leadership, staff management,

career coaching, sports coaching, healthcare and various other areas

where behaviour change is desired.

Can we draw on MI in our daily lives? MI is all about relationship building, good listening skills and

demonstrating empathy. It is also about offering suggestions or

alternative perspectives. Its collaborative and inclusive approach helps

to resolve conflicts or misunderstandings.

MI can help us communicate with our loved ones and encourage them

to make positive changes in their life without being intrusive or

confrontational, or having to use rewards and punishments.

Motivational Interviewing: Agent for ChangeBy Mr Viknesan, Senior Counsellor, National Addictions Management Service, IMH

All rights reserved. For re-prints of any article, please write to the Corporate Communications Department.

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