MENTAL health issues are said to affect one in four people worldwide.
For this reason, Kiwanis Penang Central and D’Home Mental Health Association have been organising a series of mental health talks to help the public understand mental health, the importance of early intervention and how to prevent mental health problems through learning resilience.
Both have engaged a vastly experienced psychiatrist Dr Danny Cheah from Australia to speak on the subject this month.
Kiwanis will hold their mental health talk, themed ‘Resilience In Children and Families’, on Dec 21 (Saturday) at Tech Dome Penang in Komtar from 3pm to 5pm while D’Home will hold their talk, ‘What is Mental Illness’, at Burmah Road Gospel Hall on Dec 22 (Sunday) from 3pm to 5pm.
Admission for both talks is free.
“There are lots of people out there who are lost and do not know who and where to turn to for support,” said Datuk Leslie Lee, the president of D’Home Mental Health Association.
“It’s important for us to understand mental illness, recognise its early signs and symptoms and seek early intervention and treatment for a better outcome or recovery.”
Dr Cheah is a child and adolescent psychiatrist working as the Head of the Clinical Services at the Alfred Hospital Child and Youth Mental Health Service in Melbourne.
He leads about 70 mental health professionals and also provides clinical supervision and teaching.
He is passionate about helping people early in order to prevent long-time consequences of mental illness.
Story by K.H. Ong