New master's programme to plug training gap in mental health care

Practitioners to get help supporting patients with mild to moderate symptoms

- Lee Li Ying

To meet the growing demand for mental health care here, a new master's programme on clinical mental health is set to commence in January 2025.

Offered by the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the NUHS Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre, the Master of Clinical Mental Health and Psychotherapy programme is set to fill a training gap for mental health professionals.

Dr Pearlene Ng, deputy programme director and education director of psychology of the NUHS Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre, said the programme is set to help mental health practitioners support patients who have mild to moderate symptoms of mental health conditions those who fall in Tier 2 and Tier 3 of the tiered care model.

The tiered care model was announced in October 2023, and it organises Singapore's mental health services and support measures according to an individual's needs.

There are four levels ranging from mental health promotion, self-help and peer support at Tier 1, to the most intensive level of care in hospitals and specialist clinics at Tier 4.