New Youth-Designed Digital Mental Health Forum Offers Peer Support And Access To Trained Therapists

Youths benefit from meaningful interactions with trained peer supporters, receive guidance and advice from professional therapists, and are part of a growing youth mental health support ecosystem.

14 February 2024 – let’s talk, a digital peer support forum, harnesses the power of online communities to create strong support networks for young people. This community is monitored and managed by trained moderators and professional therapists. Designed to preserve anonymity, it provides a safe space for youths to exchange mental health-related advice, information and stories with peers. A popular feature is Ask-a-Therapist, where users can pose mental health-related questions to a panel of qualified professionals and receive a response within 24 hours.

2 . let’s talk is an initiative under mindline.sg, a mental health platform developed by MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) in consultation and collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). In line with the National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, mindline.sg serves as a first-stop touchpoint to guide individuals to the most appropriate support or services to meet their needs.

3. let’s talk was developed collaboratively with students and young working adults. They contributed insights on the common mental health challenges faced by young people in Singapore and key barriers to seeking help based on their lived experience. These include: academic stress, relationship issues and pressures in living up to expectations from self and parents. Barriers faced include: the fear of stigma and judgment when seeking help on mental health, past negative experiences, a lack of awareness of help resources as well as cost considerations. The youths expressed a desire for social support and meaningful human interactions delivered in a safe online environment. These insights informed the creation of let’s talk as an option for youths who wish to access help but are hesitant to take the first step for face-to-face intervention, or those who are seeking validation and comfort from a moderated community.

4. Ms Tricia Tan, one of the young adults who contributed to the co-creation of let’s talk, said that the forum was inspired by other popular community discussion sites such as Reddit. She said: “The youth team spoke to our friends and families to get ideas and inspiration. Many of them mentioned using open forum sites like Reddit to discuss topics like exams, peer pressure and relationship issues. Our team started conducting observations on these sites, and we noticed that some youths would also share about their mental health concerns within these discussion threads. This inspired us to create our own version of “Reddit” designed specifically to address the mental health concerns of youths in Singapore”. 

5. All engaged therapists on let’s talk are registered under recognised professional counselling bodies, including the Singapore Association for Counselling. In addition to providing professional mental health support, the forum also offers opportunities for trained peer supporters to apply their skills. Organisations such as the Health Promotion Board (HPB), National Youth Council (NYC), schools and other non-profit organisations provide training for young people to become peer supporters. This training helps volunteers acquire fundamental knowledge and skills essential for effective peer support. This includes: understanding common mental health challenges, recognising signs that someone needs help and treatment options available locally, communicating with others in need of support, as well as strategies for self-care and coping. Trained peer supporters can register their interest to be volunteers on let’s talk and those selected will be onboarded to moderate and interact with users on the forum. 

6. Ms Viandra Goenadie, a peer supporter on let’s talk, shared that the training sessions emphasised the importance of active listening and ensuring that youths feel heard and understood. She said: “Many youths feel lost and alone in their struggles, so it’s essential for peer supporters to lend them a listening ear. Our goal as peer supporters is to validate their emotions, direct them to available help resources, and most importantly, encourage them to seek the help they need.”

7. Mental health continues to be an important health, social and economic issue as Singapore’s Members of Parliament called for a robust whole-of-nation effort in advancing mental health and well-being when Parliament sat last week. Plans as part of Singapore’s National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy include growing an ecosystem that is proactive in promoting mental well-being and where the delivery of mental health services will be moved into the community to widen the number and types of touchpoints for those in need.

8. let’s talk was soft launched in 2023. Beta testing involving over 200 youths revealed that over 90% found the platform effective in facilitating peer support. More than 80% of respondents felt safe expressing their thoughts and feelings on let’s talk, while a similar proportion expressed their intent to recommend the platform to their friends. Convenience, as well as a lower risk of being judged and stigmatised, were reasons cited by youths as to why they preferred to share online as compared to in-person. Many felt that a platform like let’s talk provides a safe space for candid and open sharing.

9. let’s talk user Mr Cheong Zu Yuan said that the platform is a valuable outlet for him to freely express his emotions. He said: “Sometimes, I find it difficult to express myself and share my problems with the people around me. When faced with such obstacles during real-life interactions, I feel that let’s talk is a good alternative that encourages open sharing. At the same time, it is also a space for me to reflect and better my mental well-being.”

10. Several users have also found let’s talk useful in fostering strong support communities. Ms Ashley Poo, who was experiencing burnout, received support from the platform’s community of peer supporters and therapists after reaching out for advice on her mental health. She said: “My experience interacting with the peer supporters and ‘Cottonsoul’, a therapist on let’s talk, has been very positive. They advised me to establish clear boundaries for work hours and dedicate time for breaks to avoid burnout. Additionally, they encouraged me to engage in self-care activities to find motivation and meaning outside of work.” 

 11. Another let’s talk user Ms Ho Yue Ling said that receiving encouraging responses on the forums made her feel less lonely in her mental health journey. She said: “When I wrote my first forum post, I received many encouraging and empathetic responses. They assured me that I am not alone, and that there are many other users on let’s talk that would be willing to help me through my struggles.”

12. let’s talk comprises a range of features aimed at providing mental health support for youths and fostering strong support communities. They include:

      1. Ask-a-Therapist: A platform where users can enquire about mental health concerns, with responses delivered by professional therapists 

      2. Hangouts: A virtual space for users to discuss various topics ranging from student life to adulting 

    3. Self-Care Lounge: Weekly self-care activities for users to experience with their friends and family 

     4. Community Events: A consolidated schedule of recent events and developments in the mental health space 

    5. Groups: A space where partners such as schools, social service agencies and non-profit organisations can form support groups for users within their communities 

13. Said Ms Hazirah Hoosainsah, let’s talk’s community manager and one of the therapists on the platform: “We receive a wide range of questions from users, from navigating interpersonal relationships to coping with symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and managing academic pressures and burnout. Although varied, a common theme among these questions is the shared desire for their struggles to be heard and to seek solace in a supportive, safe space.

14. Highlighting the growing relevance and popularity of digital mental health support, Ms Janice Weng, Deputy Director at MOHT and project lead for mindline.sg, expressed: “Traditionally, peer support is delivered in-person at a group or individual level. There are limitations to scalability and issues with access due to stigma and availability. Digital peer support is breaking down these barriers by delivering peer support services to youths where they are most often at – their mobile devices. Individuals can remain anonymous and get timely support from trained peers and professionals in a safe and supportive online environment. We hope that let’s talk can continue to enable accessible and convenient mental health support for our young people, contributing to a brighter and more inclusive future for mental wellbeing.” 

15. To date, let’s talk has received over 80,000 unique visitors, of which, approximately 5,000 registered users have written more than 3,000 posts. The peer supporter network has also grown steadily to over 100 youths today, forming a community of carers ever ready to give advice, support, encouragement and help in dedication to a very important social cause.