Combating Mental Health Stigma - Breaking Down Barriers I National Council of Social Service

RESEARCH

DONATE

VOLUNTEER

GRANTS

Breaking Down Barriers: A Collective Effort to Combat Stigma

Discover How We Can Tackle Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Together: One Word, One Action at a Time.

For Individuals: Words Matter

Using factual, non-stigmatising words can make a significant difference in encouraging a person who may be facing mental health challenges to seek professional help and affirming those in recovery from mental health conditions. Let's commit to treating every person with a mental health condition with respect and dignity through our words and actions.

Supporting a Person with Mental Health Condition

Supporting someone with a mental health condition need not be intimidating or awkward.

Here are 8 tips to keep in mind:
01. Be Present: Show that you care by being there.	02. Establish Trust: Build a relationship based on trust and understanding.	03. Listen Attentively and Without Judgment: Offer a compassionate ear without passing judgement.	04. Avoid Dismissal: Give the person time and space to express their feelings and experiences.
05. Offer Care and Support: Instead of providing quick solutions, provide care and support for them.	06. Educate Yourself: Learn about different mental health conditions to better understand their experiences.	07. Encourage Seeking Help: Express your concern and ask if they've considered seeking help from a counsellor or doctor.	08. Respect and Dignity: Treat persons with mental health conditions with the same level of respect and dignity as anyone else.

Here are 5 ways to support:
01. Be a Catalyst for Change: Get involved as a mental health volunteer with organisations like Campus PSY and Silver Ribbon (Singapore) youth Chapter.	02. Inspire with Your Story: Share your personal experiences to inspire and support others.	03. Raise Awareness: Incorporate mental health topics into your school projects and initiate conversations on mental health and stigma.	04. Support Our Movement: Like & Share the Beyond the Label Facebook page, or make use of the campaign materials and resources.	05. Promote Mental Health: Share mental health-related content on your social media to encourage good mental health practices and resilience.

Here are 5 ways to support:

01.
Be a Catalyst for Change:
Get involved as a mental health volunteer with organisations like Campus PSY and Silver Ribbon (Singapore) youth Chapter.

02.
Inspire with Your Story:
Share your personal experiences to inspire and support others.

03.
Raise Awareness:
Incorporate mental health topics into your school projects and initiate conversations on mental health and stigma.

04.
Support Our Movement:
Like & Share the Beyond the Label Facebook page, or make use of the campaign materials and resources.

05.
Promote Mental Health:
Share mental health-related content on your social media to encourage good mental health practices and resilience.

Here are 4 ways to help:
01. Raising Awareness and Fostering Dialogue on Mental Health: Create a safe and supportive work environment where employees feel comfortable seeking help or have open conversation about mental wellbeing.	02. Implement Inclusive Workplace Policy: Embrace inclusive hiring policy and support for persons with mental health conditions.	03. Implement Workplace Mental Wellbeing Measures And/Or Workplace Accommodations: Enable employees to have access to workplace support or reasonable accommodations.	04. Mental Health Education and Training: Offer training and resources to your colleagues, giving them the confidence and knowledge to support employees with mental health conditions.

Here are 4 ways to help:

01.
Raising Awareness and Fostering Dialogue on Mental Health:
Create a safe and supportive work environment where employees feel comfortable seeking help or have open conversation about mental wellbeing.

02.
Implement Inclusive Workplace Policy:
Embrace inclusive hiring policy and support for persons with mental health conditions.

03.
Implement Workplace Mental Wellbeing Measures And/Or Workplace Accommodations:
Enable employees to have access to workplace support or reasonable accommodations.

04.
Mental Health Education and Training:
Offer training and resources to your colleagues, giving them the confidence and knowledge to support employees with mental health conditions.

Possible actions that employers can do to build an inclusive workplace:
Action 01. Raising Awareness and Fostering Dialogue on Mental Health	Screen the campaign videos via internal channels or platforms/events within the company. Share self-help resources like mindline at work to access self-guided tools. Promote a safe culture to talk about mental health conditions and encourage employees to seek help for their mental health needs. (for example, facilitated discussions within work sub-teams to share their thoughts and views) Supervisors can schedule regular check-ins with employees to assess their state of mental well-being. Have consistent internal messaging, and use company’s internal communications to raise awareness of mental health and signal that it is ok to seek help. Provide opportunities to increase employee’s understanding of mental health through volunteering or supporting mental health events. (for example, sign up as volunteers on Giving.sg for mental health charities or organise experiential workshops)
Action 02. Mental Health Education and Training	Conduct general mental health education for all employees to learn about mental health and how to manage their own mental health. Train managers/supervisors/Workplace Safety and Health representatives/ union leaders to spot signs of mental distress, and on where they can refer employees to seek help from, and how to support colleagues with mental health needs. (Employers may wish to tap on HPB's wellness programmes to equip managers and HR personnel with skills to be supportive leaders at the workplace.)
Action 03. Implement Workplace mental wellbeing measures and/or workplace accommodations	Appoint a Workplace Mental Wellbeing Champion (MWBC) in your senior management team and join the MWBC Network to access resources and exchange best practices. Increase work support through teamwork, buddy systems and check-ins with managers. Set up a peer support system as an informal support network within the team/ department to provide basic emotional support to colleagues, and as a key touchpoint to refer colleagues in prolonged distress to professional help. Provide access to counselling services. (for example, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – View the consolidated list of EAP service providers in Annex A of the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Wellbeing at Workplaces) Adopt workplace mental wellbeing initiatives. (refer Workplace Safety and Health Council's A Playbook on Workplace Mental Well-being for actionable guides) Partner employment support agencies to put in place post-placement support for employees with mental health conditions. Partner employment support agencies like the: Singapore Anglican Community Services (SACS) Integrated Employment Services (IES), Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) MINDSET Learning Hub (MLH) and Institute of Mental Health(IMH).
Action 04. Implement inclusive workplace policy	Review HR policies to ensure hiring practices, workplace practices and performance management systems are non-discriminatory and merit-based in nature. Use surveys (e.g. iWorkHealth) to get a pulse on your workforce’s overall state of mental well-being and key workplace stressors affecting your employees. Establish return-to-work policies to support employees who are recovering from mental health conditions. (e.g. refer to NCSS Mental Health Toolkit for Employers to establish return-to-work support for employees who are recovering from mental health conditions) For companies with flexible employee benefits. (e.g. medical benefits) and insurance provision, consider extending the scope of coverage to include mental well-being programmes, mental health consultations and treatments) Create a holistic employee wellness strategy with your companies' Human Resources team. (for example, take guidance from the WellNUS Workplace Mental Health Framework)

Possible actions that employers can do to build an inclusive workplace:

Action 01.
Raising Awareness and Fostering Dialogue on Mental Health

Screen the campaign videos via internal channels or platforms/events within the company.
Share self-help resources like mindline at work to access self-guided tools.
Promote a safe culture to talk about mental health conditions and encourage employees to seek help for their mental health needs.
(for example, facilitated discussions within work sub-teams to share their thoughts and views)
Supervisors can schedule regular check-ins with employees to assess their state of mental well-being.
Have consistent internal messaging, and use company’s internal communications to raise awareness of mental health and signal that it is ok to seek help.
Provide opportunities to increase employee’s understanding of mental health through volunteering or supporting mental health events.
(for example, sign up as volunteers on Giving.sg for mental health charities or organise experiential workshops)

Action 02.
Mental Health Education and Training

Conduct general mental health education for all employees to learn about mental health and how to manage their own mental health.
Train managers/supervisors/Workplace Safety and Health representatives/ union leaders to spot signs of mental distress, and on where they can refer employees to seek help from, and how to support colleagues with mental health needs.
(Employers may wish to tap on HPB's wellness programmes to equip managers and HR personnel with skills to be supportive leaders at the workplace.)

Action 03.
Implement Workplace mental wellbeing measures and/or workplace accommodations

Appoint a Workplace Mental Wellbeing Champion (MWBC) in your senior management team and join the MWBC Network to access resources and exchange best practices.
Increase work support through teamwork, buddy systems and check-ins with managers.
Set up a peer support system as an informal support network within the team/ department to provide basic emotional support to colleagues, and as a key touchpoint to refer colleagues in prolonged distress to professional help.
Provide access to counselling services.
(for example, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – View the consolidated list of EAP service providers in Annex A of the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Wellbeing at Workplaces)
Adopt workplace mental wellbeing initiatives.
(refer Workplace Safety and Health Council's A Playbook on Workplace Mental Well-being for actionable guides)
Partner employment support agencies to put in place post-placement support for employees with mental health conditions. Partner employment support agencies like the: Singapore Anglican Community Services (SACS) Integrated Employment Services (IES), Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) MINDSET Learning Hub (MLH) and Institute of Mental Health(IMH).

Action 04.
Implement inclusive workplace policy

Review HR policies to ensure hiring practices, workplace practices and performance management systems are non-discriminatory and merit-based in nature.
Use surveys (e.g. iWorkHealth) to get a pulse on your workforce’s overall state of mental well-being and key workplace stressors affecting your employees.
Establish return-to-work policies to support employees who are recovering from mental health conditions.
(e.g. refer to NCSS Mental Health Toolkit for Employers to establish return-to-work support for employees who are recovering from mental health conditions)
For companies with flexible employee benefits.
(e.g. medical benefits) and insurance provision, consider extending the scope of coverage to include mental well-being programmes, mental health consultations and treatments)
Create a holistic employee wellness strategy with your companies' Human Resources team.
(for example, take guidance from the WellNUS Workplace Mental Health Framework)

What we can do to address stigma

Breaking Down Barriers: A Collective Effort to Combat Stigma

For Individuals: Words Matter

Supporting a Person with Mental Health Condition

For Youths: Seek Help Early

Better Support Peers and Loved Ones

For Corporations: Supporting Inclusivity at Work