The Lion Mind - Counselling & Psychological Services

Covid-19 Update – Phase Two: Safe Transition

The Lion Mind is pleased to announce that we will be open for face-to-face counselling as we transit into Phase Two.

We will be operating in two teams. Both teams will be physically segregated to avoid risk of infection between teams.

Additionally, all visitors are required to adhere to the following:

All visitations to the Counselling Centre will be strictly on an appointment basis only.
The Lion Mind will be taking temperature of everyone who enters our premises (including our staff).
All staff and visitors are required to check-in and check-out via SafeEntry.
Masks have to be worn at all times
Sanitizers and masks are placed throughout our centre, and we encourage regular use of these.

Visitors who are unable to comply to the above will be denied of entry.

We are committed to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone at our centre.

Stay safe! #SGUnited

The Counsellor’s Ramblings…

~Mr. James Chong

October is here!

We have successfully concluded two webinars for Caregivers. They are “Coping with Caregiver Stress & Burnout” by Ms Vivien Lai in August 2020, and “Managing Caregiver Stress & Burnout During COVID-19 Pandemic” by Mr Kevin Pillay in September 2020. Special shout out to them for a job well done!

It is not surprising that many people do not know what goes on in the counselling room (hint: no voodoo magic involved). In fact, many people (including many parents) believed that you need to be loudly hysteria or causing a huge scene in the public in order to be qualified to see a mental health clinician. In addition, Counsellors, Counselling Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Psychotherapists, and Psychiatrists, who are qualified to do what exactly?. To combat the mental health stigma in Singapore and to address these questions, I will be presenting a webinar on “Demystifying Counselling & Psychotherapy” in November 2020.

In the area of outreach, Vivien has presented a corporate lunch talk on ” The Definitive Guide to Combating Workplace Stress & Burnout” for the National Gallery Singapore on 25 September 2020, and I have personally presented a community talk on “Managing Depression during COVID-19 Pandemic” for National University of Singapore Student Union (NUSSU) on 26 September 2020.

Understandably that with many events going online since the start of Circuit Breaker in Singapore, everyone is starting to feel “webinar fatigue” aka “Zoombie“. Feelings and emotions of pent-up frustration due to the slow pace of the COVID-19 vaccine development, and being “trapped” in Singapore with limited things that we could explore may have dampened our spirits a little. Why would I want to stay home to attend a webinar during the weekends when I can spend my time with four other friends outside (with mask and safe-distancing of course)? With that in mind, TLM is exploring the feasibility of having physical seminars for 2021 that would still be in line with the current local COVID-19 regulations.

With the current safe-distancing regulations, our December 2020 workshop is fully subscribed! In view of popular demand, my team has decided to open up an additional workshop intake for January 2021. For more information, do sign up for our upcoming course preview.

Coincidentally, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Over at The Lion Mind Counselling Centre, we will be having a mini celebration this evening to enjoy the presence and emotional support that we have given to each other through the current difficult time together.

Today also marks the first day of the Mental Health Awareness Month. There are many mental health awareness campaigns in place this month, including Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness week (Australia) from 1 to 7 October, Mental Illness Awareness Week (USA) from 4 to 10 October, OCD Awareness week from 11 to 17 October 2020, and the World Mental Health Awareness Day on 10 October 2020. My team will be busy outreaching to the various communities to educate the importance of mental health and on how to seek professional help.

Lastly, we are pleased to be recognised and featured as one of “The 18 Clinics with the Best Psychotherapy in Singapore“!

#SGUnited

To read past articles, you may go to The Counsellor’s Corner page.

The Psychotherapist’s Ramblings

~ Ms. Dhivyaasrree Krishnamoorthy

An individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may either perform a routine action, have routine thoughts or combine both, action and thought. Performing a routine is known as compulsion and having repeated thoughts is called obsessions. OCD is one of the most common disorders in Singapore. An individual you interact with may have OCD. You may not be aware of it because their OCD may only be related to one aspect of their life, such as home. They may not display their symptoms at work or school.

To read more on what OCD is about or what causes it among young people, click this link to read 2019’s article on OCD: https://thelionmind.org.sg/daily-battles-with-ocd/

Most of the time, people tend to associate OCD with cleanliness. But, OCD affects an individual in more ways than just cleanliness. In this article, we will be providing you with some examples of clients who have OCD.

Case Studies

Client A is a female teenager. She has obsessive thoughts on figurines being cut into half. These thoughts are imagery. Sometimes, she views these thoughts from a third-person point of view where it feels as if she is looking at a movie. Other times, the client views it from third-person point of view where she executes the action. Client A does not have compulsive behaviours. She fears what these thoughts mean.

Client B is a male teenager. He has obsessive thoughts and behaviours. Client B thinks he looks ugly and, thus, feels guilty because he thinks other people have to suffer when they look at him. Over time, the client developed obsessive behaviour where he apologizes to soft toys as a coping mechanism. He is not able to control this behaviour. As long as the client comes across a soft toy that has eyes, he feels that the toy is also looking at him and he apologizes to the toy for having to look at him.

Client C is a female teenager who has obsessive thoughts and behaviours. She feels that she expresses her thoughts verbally (even though the thought was only in her mind) and that the public has recorded something she said or did. This causes the client to fear because she thinks that what she said “verbally” will be published online by someone, and people will be hurt by it. As a result, she constantly checks with her family and friends who are with her if they heard her say something out loud.

With these case studies, you will be able to understand that everyone who have OCD could display different symptoms. They may have triggers that are different from others who also have OCD. It is important to know that telling someone “these things are just in your head” will not help! Past experiences, the emotions related to these events and recurring triggers cause an individual to develop coping mechanisms. These coping mechanisms may sometimes be unhealthy which results in the individual performing repeated actions or having routine thoughts. If you know someone who may have OCD that is disrupting their daily life, encourage them to seek therapy!

To read past articles, you may go to The Psychotherapist’s Corner page.