The "Resilience Allyship" workshop was delivered to educate individuals about the mental health struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community and provide them with the tools to offer affirming support.

The workshop, led by Odile, a Paediatric Nurse Practitioner and Lead Clinical Advisor for the Anti-Stigma Project at MindHK, emphasized the importance of understanding LGBTQ+ stressors that impact mental health. Throughout the interactive workshop, participants engaged in discussions, Q&A sessions, and shared their experiences, allowing them to explore the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

They learned about affirming support and how it can positively impact mental well-being. The workshop also highlighted considerations when helping someone from the LGBTQ+ community seek support, taking into account the specific needs and hurdles they may encounter. External resources were provided to help participants further seek assistance and information.

Overall, the workshop provided a valuable platform for participants to deepen their understanding of LGBTQ+ mental health issues, become more effective allies, and foster a more inclusive and affirming society.

Life is like a story, with transitional phases and many ups and downs. Yet, storytelling could act as an influential role in helping us to make sense of our life experiences, navigate challenges, and shape our passion and purpose in life.

In this workshop, Ms. Steph Ng, a researcher, mental health advocate, and founder of the Body Banter, shared her personal experiences of navigating eating disorder in her teens and how this experience shaped her passion in learning more about Psychology and pursuing further study in Linguistic. Storytelling is a smooth outlet for emotions, and participants were offered opportunities to reflect and understand their thoughts during the process. Facing setbacks is not something to be afraid of, all participants learnt a lesson from this “Chapter”.

By the end of the workshop, Steph also shared some practical tips for participants to practice storytelling beyond the workshop. These tips include keeping a daily/weekly journal, keeping voice memos of noteworthy events in everyday life, and organizing monthly “reflection circles” with friends.

Anyone could be allies to promote men’s mental health, learned about their own mental health needs and take appropriate actions in looking after it.

Youth Wellbeing Practitioners from Mind HK, Mr. Jacky Chow and Ms. Victoria Tam, discussed local statistics on men's mental health and common problems faced by men, including the impact of cultural expectations. Obstacles that men face when seeking help were also explored and the DOTS framework (Distraction, Opting Out, Thinking Strategies, Substance and other Strategies) was introduced to find out if those methods are workable in the long term to lead us a rich and meaningful life.

Riding on the concept of acceptance, Victoria and Jacky discussed the differences between being aware of our thoughts and feelings and avoiding or denying them. The choice-point theory was introduced, and participants were provided relevant tips to promote psychological flexibility and self-care.

To conclude the Empowering Family Harmony Project and in response to the survey results, the Counseling and Wellness Center had launched the Exhibition “Getting in Touch with the Elephant in the Room” at Academic Concourse outside LT-A from 26 February to 5 March 2024. Personal stories from a group of students were showcased and attracted more than 800 anonymous responses from students and staff. The majority of memos collected are surrounding academic (e.g., getting high GPA, mid-term, etc.), worries about future, and wishes to make new friends/get into a relationship.

Along with other psychoeducation materials, we hope to raise awareness, break down prejudices, re-establish connections, and regain strength to empower family harmony for mental wellness.

For those who have missed the exhibition, you could still read some of the personal stories and responses from our Student Counselors and Peer Companions on the website archive.

Let’s co-create a compassionate university community together!

More details: https://sites.google.com/view/elephant-in-the-room-2024/home

Procrastination can be a nuisance for most people, as it is an act of delaying something that must be done.

In this workshop, Ms LEUNG Ka Yan, also known as Counsellorgwa, a Registered Counsellor with APCPA, leveraged on real case examples and experiential exercises to facilitate participants to be aware of, understand, and unhook from our thoughts, backed by concepts from Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Sticky thoughts are unwanted and disturbing, which could drive negative emotions and lead to procrastination. By recognizing our thoughts, we could understand the reasons behind, learn about our values reflected from the thoughts, and move towards to the choice point. Procrastination is preventable!

As young adults, university students are at a critical point in their lives where they are discovering their identity and aspirations. Defining life goals and values can provide direction and purpose, leading to a sense of fulfilment.

During the talk, Ms. Bobo Tsang, a Clinical Psychologist from New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, shared common signs of quarter-life crisis experienced by university students. She facilitated participants in identifying their values and generating value-based goals. Common challenges to living a value-based life were also explored, and then addressed with tips based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Interpersonal effectiveness skills, including DEAR MAN (Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce, Mindful, Appear confident, Negotiate), were taught to support participants in balancing their personal goals with expectations from social roles and others. Thinking traps and avoidance behaviors were also explored, and behavioral experiments were designed to help participants learn to tolerate self-doubt and frustration when things did not go as expected.

Finally, Bobo shared examples where identified values seemed to conflict, and facilitated participants in searching for common ground and sorting out priorities to navigate the challenges of discovering their identity and achieving their goals.

Each of us has our own unique way of expressing and receiving love. When we feel disconnected from the people we care about, life can feel lonely and unfulfilling. Dr. Gary Chapman's five Love Languages, which include words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch, offer possible ways to strengthen our connections and promote harmony in our relationships.

During the workshop, Mr. Anthony Tsang, Registered Social Worker from the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, provided participants with a fun-filled afternoon of balloon twisting and facilitated them in becoming more aware of their own and others' preferred ways of communicating care for their loved ones. Overall, the talk equipped participants with tips to take small steps in maintaining relationships for applications in their everyday life.

Horticultural therapy is a process led by trained therapists purposefully using plants and gardens in therapeutic activities designed to positively affect a set of defined health outcomes for individuals. Many research findings validated mental health benefits when it promotes positive feelings, relief from acute stress, and a sense of purpose and hope during the process.

This workshop was facilitated by Dr Nicolson Siu, a registered Horticultural Therapist of the Hong Kong Association of Therapeutic Horticulture as well as a lecturer of Division of Social Science, HKUST. Participants were able to engage in various cognitive processes through gentle touches and utilized creativity with scarce resources to create simple but unique moss puzzles. Participants were also given the opportunity to share their hands-on experience and realized that they were able to overcome difficulties by themselves and create their unique paths in life.

Participants were encouraged to continue cherishing and respecting life of the moss puzzle they created. Tips on how to nurture and take care of the moss puzzles were also shared.

Living in a competitive city like Hong Kong, the society celebrates efficiency, productivity, achievements etc. Perhaps for a majority of us, always striving for better academic achievements or comparing career prospects, could be criticising ourselves day in and day out, affecting our mood and stress without even noticing.

In this talk, Dr Melissa Chan, Clinical Psychologist from Central Minds, discussed the concept of self-compassion as the antidote to self-criticism. The functions of the three emotion regulation systems, namely drive system, threat system and soothing system were explained to facilitate participants in acquiring strategies to cultivate self-compassion and be more nurturing to themselves, bringing a positive impact to our mood and promote growth in a more positive way.

Singing bowls provide a powerful means for reconnecting the mind and body, allowing individuals to focus on the resonating tones and vibrations, becoming more present and attuned to their physical sensations.

In this workshop, Ms Charmaine Mok, counselor and Singing Bowls Facilitator, Mindful Living Academy, has provided participants with an immersive experience to explore the remarkable effects of sound and vibration on their well-being, attaining clarity in the process. Through guided meditation, participants also gained a heightened sense of self-awareness, established a deeper connection to their inner selves and experienced deep relaxation and felt recharged.