News this week included: widening war in the Middle East, with ripple effects on transportation and possibly, food costs, here; Lawrence Wong visits Japan amidst global turmoil; Singapore’s bristling response to Australia’s national broadcaster for having the temerity to suggest unfairness in our political system where, it is known, of course, that no party is more equal than others; POFMA orders issued to activist Han Hui Hui; the struggles of older children leaving the care system; uncertainty about the future of Komala Vilas, beloved Indian joint; multi-day disruptions in Singtel’s services; Singaporean of the Year gong for doctor helping the intellectually disabled; higher likelihood of autism symptoms in toddlers given more screen time; Amos Yee deported back to these shores.
Below are the issues we explore in depth.
Society: A dearth of mental health professionals
Getting mental health support in Singapore can be almost as daunting as the struggles that make help necessary in the first place. Stigma and workplace discrimination still deter many from seeking help. But even for those who do, a persistent shortage of mental health professionals makes care difficult to access. In 2021, the Ministry of Health noted there were 8.9 psychologists and 4.5 psychiatrists per 100,000 people here, and “no international consensus” on the ideal ratio. Just as a comparison though, Australia and Korea have 19 and 9 psychiatrists per 100,000 population respectively. Although the ranks of psychologists, psychiatrists, and counsellors have grown in recent years—amid rising awareness and a stronger national focus on mental health and well-being—they haven’t grown fast enough to meet demand.
The reasons are structural. Training pathways are long and costly, typically taking about seven years and requiring postgraduate qualifications, with expenses rising further for those who study overseas. Limited clinical placements and a lack of qualified supervisors further constrict the pipeline. At the same time, clients are often reluctant to see interns or psychologists-in-training, making it harder for trainees to log the practical hours they need to qualify. “[W]e’re caught in the middle,” one aspiring psychologist told CNA: “[I]f we don't have opportunities to gain the experience effectively, then we’ll just be stuck.” Some efforts have been made to ease the bottleneck. The National University of Singapore has, among other actions, shortened training to five years by compressing its undergraduate programme and removed the requirement for a year of work experience before a master’s degree.
Elsewhere, the government’s mental health and well-being strategy, launched in 2023, has begun to improve access and quality of services. Measures include expanding capacity across acute, primary, community, and long-term care; training over 160,000 frontline personnel and volunteers to identify people in distress and to help them get support; educating parents on how to respond to their children’s mental health needs; and strengthening workplace mental health provisions. Since last year, psychologists have also been required to register in order to practise, a move aimed at improving patient safety.
In the meantime, some who cannot afford the support they need are turning to AI chatbots—an unregulated option that professionals warn carry real risks. Accessibility will remain crucial if people are to get the care they need without fear or delay. Experts have called for better insurance coverage, stronger regulation, and wider use of digital tools for early intervention.
Still, these measures are, at best, reactive. Without addressing the root causes of poor mental health, they can only help people manage distress, not prevent it. Well-being is shaped not only in clinics, but by the conditions in which people live; lifestyle factors and the broader social determinants of health remain among its strongest drivers. That requires a broader shift away from a model that’s centred on clinical intervention, towards one that prioritises environmental and behavioural change. It means, for instance, reducing social isolation, improving nutrition, and reducing stressful living and working conditions. Until then, the system will remain focused on managing the fallout; relying on therapy and medication to solve problems that are, in many cases, also social and structural.
Some further reading: In “Therapising queerness, navigating the mental health system in Singapore”, Charmaine Poh discusses the challenges queer people face when seeking mental health help here.
In “The AI will see you now”, Nicole Chan contends with the many benefits and pitfalls of getting mental health advice from generative AI.
Society: Being forced to give up paid work for caregiving
Something to cheer, and much to worry about in the latest caregiver figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Nearly 40 percent of the 12,300 people who dropped out of the workforce last year to care for ageing parents were men, up from around 28 percent in 2021. For centuries, women have borne the lion’s share of familial caregiving—unpaid, exhausting, and mostly thankless. So, yay gender equality? Well, yes and no. Firstly, while observers concede that changing gender norms are probably playing a role in this ongoing shift (which may also be a proxy marker for a tapering pay gap—as women’s pay edges closer to men’s, income considerations become less decisive in who stays at home), smaller families mean that when a son is an only child, he is more likely to step up. Secondly, research from even more rapidly ageing societies, where the trend took hold earlier, suggests that traditional masculine mores remain intact, including a reluctance to ask for help. Finally, women are still the overwhelming majority of those who have left paid jobs to become full-time caregivers, including of children and other relatives. So, by all means, let’s cheer a slightly fairer division of labour but let’s not get carried away.
