take a look around you statistically
three out of ten Malaysians are
experiencing a mental health issue
my name is Elvan and I’m a clinical
psychologist in private practice when I
was an undergrad psychology student I
was going through a traumatic experience
in my relationship I felt helpless did
not know how to cope with my
overwhelming emotions and I didn’t feel
like I belong in this world it was one
of the difficult periods that I
experienced in my life I was depressed I
understood that mental services was
needed but therein lies the problem I
approached the private centers around
client valley and was quoted 200 ringgit
and above in order to receive a session
of therapy and a typical course of
counseling could last eight sessions or
more and as a student it was impossible
for me to afford the alternative to this
will be public hospitals but scheduling
an appointment could take weeks or
months depending on how booked they are
they are NGOs but most offer services
based on services by trainees rather
than qualified professionals there
really isn’t much of a choice
either I pay a premium or wait really
really long and receiving services also
depends on where you are in Malaysia
because most of these centers are
clustered around the Klang Valley area I
was fortunate to have received therapy
from a lecture of mine and no cost it
was a life-changing experience and since
then providing access to mental health
became my personal mission but I
understand that most Malaysians do not
share the same privilege and let’s
examine the reason why one of the
reasons is because there is no allocated
budget for mental health care in a
report in 2016 it showed that mental
health account for less than zero
four percent of the total healthcare
budget and based on this expenditure
these are the total numbers of mental
health professionals in the public
sector it looks like a big number but
comparing to the whu-oh recommendation
of one psychiatrist to ten thousand
people in the population
this number is one in two hundred
thousand in Malaysia and considering the
proportion of Malaysians who are
affected by mental health issues and a
mental professional which could include
a counselor psychologists or
psychiatrists a metals professional
requires is required to provide service
of up to 24,000 clients at any given
time if these at all possible and this
challenge is not only in the public
sector because this challenge is also
difficult to address in a commercial
market a qualified professional requires
training up to a master’s degree at a
minimum and upon completion is required
to provide highly attentive and
time-consuming therapeutic procedure it
is very difficult to charge below the
material because firstly of the study of
student loan debt cost of living as well
as to provide payment for any entities
you
and because of that it accounts for 15%
of the average household income for a
person in the family to receive services
this is the highly unsustainable
practice and this is a very frustrating
situation for myself in someone who is
passionate in mental health but is
unable to provide such services despite
how much I really want to do so
providing services and receiving therapy
is simply not affordable for the average
Malaysian let’s look at the health media
so how do you overcome this problem my
colleagues and I have been have been
approaching this from a cost perspective
and one way to lower cost is to improve
efficiency in delivering services
this could include lower reducing the
time spent by the therapist lowering
utilities and rent expenditure as well
as providing convenience for both
parties to communicate and to connect
while not in restricted due to time or
location we have developed an online
messaging platform that allows both
therapist and client to connect and
communicate as synchronously what this
means is that the client will be able to
message the therapist at any given time
and as much as they want on the other
hand the therapist will be allowed to
provide daily responses whenever they
are available
this could mean reaching up to their
clients at a cafe before what begins in
between consultations or during the
commune in the trail and because of the
efficiency and convenience cost is
significant in the way we have come to a
time where there is significant
breakthrough in technology and mental
health literature now it is possible to
develop meaningful digital relationships
it is also possible for emotional and
behavioral change to be taught to the
depressed and the great psychology
student to the average Malaysian who is
going through a rough patch
and to those who have nowhere to turn to
when the going gets rough it is time for
them to receive the help and guidance
that they deserve that is my idea what’s
ready [Applause]
three out of ten Malaysians are
experiencing a mental health issue
my name is Elvan and I’m a clinical
psychologist in private practice when I
was an undergrad psychology student I
was going through a traumatic experience
in my relationship I felt helpless did
not know how to cope with my
overwhelming emotions and I didn’t feel
like I belong in this world it was one
of the difficult periods that I
experienced in my life I was depressed I
understood that mental services was
needed but therein lies the problem I
approached the private centers around
client valley and was quoted 200 ringgit
and above in order to receive a session
of therapy and a typical course of
counseling could last eight sessions or
more and as a student it was impossible
for me to afford the alternative to this
will be public hospitals but scheduling
an appointment could take weeks or
months depending on how booked they are
they are NGOs but most offer services
based on services by trainees rather
than qualified professionals there
really isn’t much of a choice
either I pay a premium or wait really
really long and receiving services also
depends on where you are in Malaysia
because most of these centers are
clustered around the Klang Valley area I
was fortunate to have received therapy
from a lecture of mine and no cost it
was a life-changing experience and since
then providing access to mental health
became my personal mission but I
understand that most Malaysians do not
share the same privilege and let’s
examine the reason why one of the
reasons is because there is no allocated
budget for mental health care in a
report in 2016 it showed that mental
health account for less than zero
four percent of the total healthcare
budget and based on this expenditure
these are the total numbers of mental
health professionals in the public
sector it looks like a big number but
comparing to the whu-oh recommendation
of one psychiatrist to ten thousand
people in the population
this number is one in two hundred
thousand in Malaysia and considering the
proportion of Malaysians who are
affected by mental health issues and a
mental professional which could include
a counselor psychologists or
psychiatrists a metals professional
requires is required to provide service
of up to 24,000 clients at any given
time if these at all possible and this
challenge is not only in the public
sector because this challenge is also
difficult to address in a commercial
market a qualified professional requires
training up to a master’s degree at a
minimum and upon completion is required
to provide highly attentive and
time-consuming therapeutic procedure it
is very difficult to charge below the
material because firstly of the study of
student loan debt cost of living as well
as to provide payment for any entities
you
and because of that it accounts for 15%
of the average household income for a
person in the family to receive services
this is the highly unsustainable
practice and this is a very frustrating
situation for myself in someone who is
passionate in mental health but is
unable to provide such services despite
how much I really want to do so
providing services and receiving therapy
is simply not affordable for the average
Malaysian let’s look at the health media
so how do you overcome this problem my
colleagues and I have been have been
approaching this from a cost perspective
and one way to lower cost is to improve
efficiency in delivering services
this could include lower reducing the
time spent by the therapist lowering
utilities and rent expenditure as well
as providing convenience for both
parties to communicate and to connect
while not in restricted due to time or
location we have developed an online
messaging platform that allows both
therapist and client to connect and
communicate as synchronously what this
means is that the client will be able to
message the therapist at any given time
and as much as they want on the other
hand the therapist will be allowed to
provide daily responses whenever they
are available
this could mean reaching up to their
clients at a cafe before what begins in
between consultations or during the
commune in the trail and because of the
efficiency and convenience cost is
significant in the way we have come to a
time where there is significant
breakthrough in technology and mental
health literature now it is possible to
develop meaningful digital relationships
it is also possible for emotional and
behavioral change to be taught to the
depressed and the great psychology
student to the average Malaysian who is
going through a rough patch
and to those who have nowhere to turn to
when the going gets rough it is time for
them to receive the help and guidance
that they deserve that is my idea what’s
ready [Applause]
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