KKH unveils new mental wellness framework to boost community support for youth mental health

20 Jun 2025

Community-based Youth Connect Psychological Interventions framework developed by KKH and James Cook University, as part of the Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme
Comprehensive framework to provide early intervention to youth facing mild to mild-moderate mental health concerns
Over 300 school counsellors and community mental health practitioners trained

KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) today launched the community-based Youth Connect Psychological Interventions framework, in partnership with Temasek Foundation. Developed by clinical psychologists from KKH and James Cook University, Singapore (JCU), in collaboration with school counsellors and youth social service agencies, the framework aims to empower community groups to support adolescents, aged 10 to 19 years, experiencing mild to mild-moderate mental health concerns.

Dr Angelina Ang, Senior Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine at KKH and lead of the Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme, emphasised the importance of community involvement in youth mental health, “The role of parents, trusted adults in schools and the community, is indispensable in providing timely, accessible and personalised psychosocial support for the troubled young person. With this set of youth-friendly psychological interventions, we are equipping the community to step in with empathy and practical tools - empowering adolescents to build resilience, manage their emotions and seek help early - in the heart of the community.”

This initiative builds community capabilities in psychological interventions, complementing existing social work and counselling support, and is aligned with Singapore’s Tiered Care Model for Mental Healthcare. (see Annex 1)

“By training school- and community-based social service professionals to identify and respond to psychosocial distress, we are creating safe, familiar spaces where young people feel seen and heard. This early, community-based support enables timely intervention for mild to moderate symptoms – improving long-term outcomes and reducing the need for more resource-intensive tertiary care services later in life,” Dr Ang added.

The silent crisis: psychosomatic symptoms in adolescents

A KKH study published earlier this year revealed that among 221 adolescents who presented at KKH Children’s Emergency (CE) for self-harm and suicide attempts, in the one year prior to their attempt:

19.5 per cent presented to a SingHealth hospital or polyclinic at least once for a medically unexplained physical symptom such as a headache or stomach-ache, that may have been triggered by underlying mental or emotional distress.
15.4 per cent sought treatment for common mild illnesses.
Healthcare visits provide opportunities for psychosocial and suicide risk screening. Psychosomatic symptoms and frequent healthcare-seeking behaviour for minor ailments may be red flags for mental health distress. Emergency Departments and primary care clinics play an important role in conducting psychosocial and suicide risk screening of adolescent patients.

The same study also identified top challenges faced by these adolescents:

40.3 per cent had sleep problems.
33.9 per cent had family conflict and anxieties related to academic performance.
26.2 per cent had distress from peer relationship problems that included bullying.

From the preventive perspective, psychosocial screening for these challenges should be a routine part of care for adolescents during their healthcare visits.

Over half of the study cohort were also confused or unsure about their intentions to end their lives, pointing to the emotional turmoil adolescents often face, and how their decisions can be driven by impulse, and the inability to process their emotions.

Community collaboration for psychosocial support

Using the framework, the counsellor can tailor an intervention specific to the adolescent, to help the adolescent understand what is behind the distress and develop skills to manage the negative thoughts. These are usually associated with academic stress, home conflict, peer relationship problems like bullying, self-image issues, excessive screen time, depression and anxiety.

The framework is based on six dimensions of mental well-being - Attention, Thoughts, Beliefs, Emotions, Actions and Motivation.

For instance, when an adolescent’s attention is stuck on a vicious cycle of negative thoughts or scattered by many worries, the counsellor or community mental health practitioner can use the relevant interventions to help the adolescent redirect his focus and manage his emotions. This empowers the adolescent to break away from overwhelming and unhelpful thought patterns, see the situation more clearly, and respond constructively to the stressful situation.

Community support resources

Supporting the framework is a series of videos of six fictional yet relatable adolescents, based on the six psychological interventions modules. The videos will be progressively released as part of Youth Connect #Unscripted resources. Through these stories, adolescents learn skills to build psychological resilience and improve mental well-being, such as dealing with negative thoughts, unhelpful beliefs, and managing emotional responses.

Developed by clinical psychologists from KKH and JCU, with inputs from lead school counsellors, community mental health practitioners and volunteers of the Youth Advisory Panel convened by SHINE Children and Youth Services, the videos will complement the guidance from a trained counsellor or youth worker deploying the framework.

Since October 2024, more than 300 school counsellors and community mental health practitioners3 have been trained in the framework. Going forward, more counsellors and social workers in non-profit agencies will be equipped to identify and provide timely support to at-risk youths from 10 to 19 years old. More details are available here: Youth Connect Psychological Interventions workshop.

KKH and Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme

The community-based Youth Connect Psychological Interventions framework is a key component of the broader Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme at KKH.

Kee Kirk Chuen, Head of Health and Well-being, Temasek Foundation, said, “The launch of the Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme represents a paradigm shift in how we address youth mental health in Singapore. We recognise that youth mental health challenges are fundamentally social issues that require medical support, rather than purely medical issues requiring social support. This calls for routine mental health screening in healthcare settings, and for school and community-based professionals to be equipped to identify young people in need and respond early. By integrating timely support across medical and social systems, we can better safeguard the mental well- eing of our youth.”

Since 2022, the Temasek Foundation Youth Connect Programme has been focusing on early recognition and intervention for adolescents with mental health distress. This includes connecting at-risk adolescents to community support and resources, helping them become healthier and mentally stronger. It also helps vulnerable young people by looking at all aspects of their health in an integrated way – their physical state, thoughts and feelings, and social environment.