What’s Happening

Elephant in Our Community Campaign Launch

The Elephant in Our Community campaign was launched at Shan You Counselling Centre on 1st July 2018. Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC, officially unveiled the Beyond the Silence and The Present Moment exhibits at the campaign launch. Ellie the Mental Health Elephant, made her first official appearance. A total of 64 members of the community visited SYCC for the campaign launch and they viewed mental health awareness exhibits and attended psychoeducational talks, a mindfulness experiential session and a Tai Chi taster session. On the day of the campaign launch, we also participated in the Jalan Besar GRC carnival at the open field beside Kallang MRT. 184 participants who visited our mental health awareness booth were able to view psychoeducational exhibits and pledge their commitment to end mental health stigma via the Community for Change Commitment wall.

Community Roadshow on 7 October 2018

The Elephant in Our Community Roadshow was held on 7 October 2018 at Toa Payoh HDB Hub Mall Area. Event activities include the launch of iamEllie.sg campaign website, Silence Bubble skits on Depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Personal Sharing session by UFM 100.3’s DJ Huang Wen Yong, educational talks and exhibits. A total number of 2,347 participants attended the event where they could participate in activities and earn themselves ‘chops’ to redeem an Ellie plush toy!

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Depression on 26 May 2019

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Depression was held on 26 May 2019 at Aliwal Arts Centre. The session opened with a feature skit titled Silence Bubble which combined authentic visuals and clever symbolism to portray the major features of depression in an emotive way. This was followed by a group conversation which allows participants to explore the real issues and consequences of mental health conditions in the lives of individuals and families and their hopes of moving on and living well. After a networking break, participants broke up into small groups to reflect, share and advocate on the changes needed in our community to better support persons living with mental health conditions in Singapore. A total number of 66 participants attended the event.

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Anxiety on 29 September 2019

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Anxiety was held on 29 September 2019 at Aliwal Arts Centre. The session opened with a feature skit titled Silence Bubble which combined authentic visuals and clever symbolism to portray the major features of obsessive-compulsive disorder in an emotive way. This was followed by a group conversation which allows participants to explore the real issues and consequences of mental health conditions in the lives of individuals and families and their hopes of moving on and living well. After a networking break, participants broke up into small groups to reflect, share and advocate on the changes needed in our community to better support persons living with mental health conditions in Singapore. A total number of 74 participants attended the event.

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Suicidality on 8 December 2019

Mental Health, Let’s Talk: Suicidality was held on 8 December 2019 at Aliwal Arts Centre. The session opened with a feature skit titled Silence Bubble which combined authentic visuals and clever symbolism to portray the major features of suicidality in an emotive way. This was followed by a group conversation which allows participants to explore the real issues and consequences of mental health conditions in the lives of individuals and families and their hopes of moving on and living well. After a networking break, participants broke up into small groups to reflect, share and advocate on the changes needed in our community to better support persons living with mental health conditions in Singapore. A total number of 94 participants attended the event.

Elephant in Our Community at James Cook University

In collaboration with James Cook University’s Psychology Society, The Elephant in Our Community held a day-long mental health awareness campaign at JCU on 5 April 2019. Students had a chance to meet Ellie the Mental Health Elephant, view various exhibits on mental health and attend mindfulness experiential workshops or an awareness talk on Depression and Suicidality.

Awareness Booth Events

EIOC has partnered with various organizations to set-up our awareness booth at their events. These events include Marina One Giving Week 2019, Montfort Care’s Dementia for Dignity 2019 and CHAT’s 10thYear Anniversary Carnival 2019. Visitors of our awareness booths had a chance to participate in ‘Spin-the-Wheel Mental Health Trivia’ to win our exclusive campaign merchandises. Resources on mental health conditions were also given out where visitors of our booth could pledge their commitment to act against mental health stigma.

Rummikub Tournament Day

Shan You Wellness Community organized the Rummikub Tournament Day for our elderly beneficiaries on 19 July 2019. The elder lies were encouraged to participate in engaging games to simulate their minds and to interact with each other. 40 elderly beneficiaries took part in the event.

Community Chest Story Featuring “Ah Sai” Story’s Celebration

On 5 August 2019, Shan You Wellness Community celebrated Uncle Ah Sai’s story feature in the Community Chest’s 35 Anniversary Book. The story was shared with 60 elderly beneficiaries who attended the Low Impact Aerobics Exercise.

Corporate Social Responsibility with NTUC

In collaboration with NTUC Charity Group, NTUC sponsored handicraft, lunch and goodie bags for 100 of our Wellness Community elderly beneficiaries on 19 October 2019.

Chinese New Year Celebration 2020

On 19 January, Shan You Wellness Community celebrated Chinese New Year in collaboration with Mei Ling’s Charity Group. 120 Elderly beneficiaries were treated with opera drama, lunch, goodie bags and red packets that were fully sponsored by Mei Ling’s Charity Group.

Corporate Social Responsibility with Cisco

In collaboration with Cisco for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Cisco sponsored handicraft, lunch and goodie bags for 100 of our Wellness Community elderly beneficiaries on 31 January 2019.

Parent's Day 2020 Celebration

Shan You Wellness Community organized a Parent's Day Celebration in collaboration with Mei Ling & Charity Group on 30 June 2020. Lunch and goodie bags were fully sponsored for 105 elderly beneficiaries who attended the event. Cakes & Desserts were fully sponsored by the Charity Group.

MBCT Module 1&2 Teacher Training 2017

This 6-day intensive training workshop was held on 26 June to 1 July 2017 at Lifelong Learning Institute. Our esteemed trainers include Dr Willem Kuyken, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and Director of Oxford Mindfulness Centre, Ms Christina Surawy, MBCT Training Lead at OMC and Ms Ee Lin Ong, OMC Associate. The workshop isfor professionals keenly interested in bringing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) into their lives and work. The workshop offers the opportunity both to experience the content of MBCT classes, and to practice teaching it to one another under the supervision of the trainers. Attending this training is also the first step towards the MBCT Teacher training pathway.

Mindfulness Unpacked

On 27 July 2017, Shan You Counselling Centre organized a public talk on Mindfulness. We invited Dr Willem Kuyken, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and Director of Oxford Mindfulness Centre to share on the principles and impact of mindfulness and how it leads to improvements in mental well-being and quality of life. Attendees also experienced brief mindfulness practices during the talk.

MBCT Module 1&2 Teacher Training 2018

This 6-day intensive training workshop was held on 25 – 30 November 2018 at Shan You Counselling Centre. Our esteemed trainers include Ms Christina Surawy, MBCT Training Lead at OMC and MsEe Lin Ong, OMC Associate. The workshop is for professionals keenly interested in bringing Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) into their lives and work. The workshop offers the opportunity both to experience the content of MBCT classes, and to practice teaching it to one another under the supervision of the trainers. Attending this training is also the first step towards the MBCT Teacher training pathway.

Shan You Professional Training Motivational Interviewing

MI is an evidence-based clinical intervention used for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change. It is a person-centered counselling style for addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change by paying particular attention to the language of change. Workshops are held in an interactive format with didactic training, discussion, demonstration, and experiential learning practice.

Past Live. Now. Well. Programmes

Live. Now. Well. is an initiative by Shan You to improve mental well being in the community through accessible and effective mindfulness-based programmes. Mindful Self-Compassion is an empirically-supported programme that combines the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion to enhance our capacity for emotional well-being. Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Teaching (TIMT) is a programme developed by Kristy Arbon to address the growing awareness of how important it is for teachers of mindfulness, self-compassion and other contemplative practices to be more trauma-informed.

Mindfulness-based Mental Wellness Programmes

The Mindfulness-Based Mental Wellness programmes aim to cultivate daily mindfulness and enhance personal mental wellness via experiential activities (ie., Yoga, Tai Chi, Movement and Art). Research studies have indicated that these mindfulness-based activities can lead to individual outcome benefits like increased levels of mindfulness, improved psychological and emotional well-being, better quality of life and reduced symptoms of mental health conditions. Each programme consists of eight 1.5-hour sessions scheduled weekly.