Psychology in Singapore
-
The overwhelming majority of my time studying and practicing psychology has been spent in Melbourne. As such, I have found the level of use of psychology in a developed nation like Singapore quite surprising, and unfortunately disappointing.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
1) Former PM Goh's "stayers and quitters" speech: Come on, even your average person on the street could see that this was going to piss people off instead of motivating them to stay or return. This was a blunder that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of psychology, much less the eggheads in government, could have easily avoided. What happened?
2) The state of recruitment practices in Singapore is well behind that of other developed countries. Not only do unstructured interviews seem to be the mainstay of recruitment in Singapore, the very fact that many employers announce "only successful applicants will be notified" would horrify practicioners worldwide.
Despite that, many Singaporeans flock to seminars by psychologists (or those claiming to be psychologists). Is this a fad?
Like I said at the start, most of my time in the last ten years have been spent in Australia, and maybe I haven't been around long enough to see evidence of Singapore appreciating psychology to the extent that other developed countries do. I'd like to hear your experiences and opinions, both positive and negative. -
then y dont u do something to propagate psychology??
-
And in turn I will ask how one proposes to propogate psychology if one does not have a clear picture of what the general situation is in terms of acceptance and application of psychology in Singapore. Put simply - how do you fix it if you don't know what's broken?
The point of this thread is to establish if something is indeed broken, and if it is, exactly what is broken. -
hey side tracking a bit, one of my flatmate's doin' psychology, and one of his fellow classmates is this Brit born chinese gal who's parents are malaysian. shes kinda cute. comes over to our flat often. I'm trying to see if I can get a snog or 2 outta her.
oh did i mention she's 99% lesbian? -
You call that sidetracking a bit? This really is one for Agony Aunt.
On a side note, been there, done that, got the T-shirt too - it can be done, but it's slow and don't expect too much out of it.
-
heh. Well wish me luck. My methods prob won't bear telling.Originally posted by Gedanken:You call that sidetracking a bit? This really is one for Agony Aunt.
On a side note, been there, done that, got the T-shirt too - it can be done, but it's slow and don't expect too much out of it.
-
You're going to need it. Now can we get back on track here? The meter's running.
-
sorry mate. carry on good man!Originally posted by Gedanken:You're going to need it. Now can we get back on track here? The meter's running. -
Just want to hear your opinion, do you think the government takes Psychology in Singapore seriously? I donÂ’t think so, when is the last time you hear the government praising doctors/ staffs from Institute of Mental Health?
The only time it came into the news was during the SARs period when some of the patients/staffs were suspected of having the virus. Most of the time their contributions to this country remain unknown. -
Oddly enough, I think the government is probably the one body that best recognises psychology as a profession - in particular, the Ministries of Defence and Education are probably the biggest employers of psychologists here.
Part of the problem is public awareness of psychology. When I was in LA last year, I was very surprised at how Americans who were not in the profession still had a good idea of what psychologists actually do. The American Psychological Association has done a lot of work to get psychology recognised as a profession in the US, and of course the work performed in the course of the two World Wars made a significant contribution to how Americans view psychology.
Psychologists in the US certainly have it better than those in Singapore (and to some extent Australia) because more people actually know about it. I suspect that in Singapore, people don't recognise the importance of psychology because they don't know enough about it.
That said, I think we do actually have it better here than in some other countries. One of my former classmates is a military psychologist from the UAE, and he said he's got an uphill battle because some psychological principles are in conflict with the teachings of Islam. -
Maybe most Singaporean has the wrong impression that Psychology is only for those mentally ill? So since I am not mentally ill, why should I want to know more about this subject?
But really Psychology is more than just mental illness, depression, etc.
-
It's this mindset in general population of Singaporean that seeing a psychology mean that u r a nutcase.. or scared being label as werid or having this misconcept that u need to take some sort of anti-depressive drug ( which depends on ur medical condition )
Actually, i feel there arent readily informations on those anti-depressive drugs; about their side-effects blahblah... and the costs of the treatment nia??
Other than that, i think not many people are comfortable to tell their problems, especially the skeleton in the closet kind of matters to a psychologist right?
The sad case is that if u r treated earlier, the more serious mental illness can be prevented. Some serious mental illness can only be treated and controlled but no cure... -
Especially Psychodynamic Perspective.Originally posted by Gedanken:That said, I think we do actually have it better here than in some other countries. One of my former classmates is a military psychologist from the UAE, and he said he's got an uphill battle because some psychological principles are in conflict with the teachings of Islam. -
Sign... you are right. Basically being Asian, we are not comfortable in telling our problems to strangers. This is especially so for men. We need to maintain a 'strong, in control' image at all times.Originally posted by Jazzytunez:It's this mindset in general population of Singaporean that seeing a psychology mean that u r a nutcase.. or scared being label as werid or having this misconcept that u need to take some sort of anti-depressive drug ( which depends on ur medical condition )
Actually, i feel there arent readily informations on those anti-depressive drugs; about their side-effects blahblah... and the costs of the treatment nia??
Other than that, i think not many people are comfortable to tell their problems, especially the skeleton in the closet kind of matters to a psychologist right?
The sad case is that if u r treated earlier, the more serious mental illness can be prevented. Some serious mental illness can only be treated and controlled but no cure...
Expressing/Exposing your emotions is a sign of weakness. How sad...
~Luckily we can use emoticons in the Internet~ -
Actually don't u think guys, nowaday are becoming more affectionate than ever and not afraid to show their their emotional side... ?
Anyone with a traumatized experience could have difficulty conversing with a therapist. Also perhaps due to a lack of faith on the medical communtity as the communtity is seldom mentioned or recommended in the country. -
Very interesting point, DP, and spot-on. Going back to my earlier point about how psychology is taken stateside, Americans are a lot more conscious of the applications of psychology in fields such as management, market research and education. In these parts, people still have difficulty making the distinction between psychiatrists and psychologists.Originally posted by DeadPoet:Maybe most Singaporean has the wrong impression that Psychology is only for those mentally ill? So since I am not mentally ill, why should I want to know more about this subject?
But really Psychology is more than just mental illness, depression, etc. -
Yup, there's a fair bit of cross-cultural research on tendencies to report psychological problems.Originally posted by DeadPoet:Sign... you are right. Basically being Asian, we are not comfortable in telling our problems to strangers. This is especially so for men. We need to maintain a 'strong, in control' image at all times.
Expressing/Exposing your emotions is a sign of weakness. How sad...
~Luckily we can use emoticons in the Internet~
An interesting point of note: my sister is trying to write an article for the Straits Times on families with disabled children. So far, she has had no families that are willing to be interviewed - that's the power of stigma in these parts.
I did a project with disabled kids while I was finishing my postgrad, and the difference is stunning. Australian parents are much more willing to go public with their kids' disabilities because they understand that spreading knowledge acts to reduce stigma. Some of the parents I have met have gone on national television to spread the word. -
Yes, gender roles across the developed world are changing and we've finally caught up with the sensitive-new-age-guy trend.Originally posted by Jazzytunez:Actually don't u think guys, nowaday are becoming more affectionate than ever and not afraid to show their their emotional side... ?
Anyone with a traumatized experience could have difficulty conversing with a therapist. Also perhaps due to a lack of faith on the medical communtity as the communtity is seldom mentioned or recommended in the country.
Regarding trauma, it actually goes back further than that. Trust is a major issue in talking about trauma, and I suspect you will find that many people keep traumatic events to themselves. In my experience with traumatised kids, it takes months of relationship-building before they open up. -
That's not very likely. First, mental illness cannot be identified until the onset of symptoms, which by definition precludes prevention. Second, at the present time we don't know enough about most mental illnesses to develop preventative measures.Originally posted by Jazzytunez:The sad case is that if u r treated earlier, the more serious mental illness can be prevented. -
That is very brave of them.Originally posted by Gedanken:Yup, there's a fair bit of cross-cultural research on tendencies to report psychological problems.
An interesting point of note: my sister is trying to write an article for the Straits Times on families with disabled children. So far, she has had no families that are willing to be interviewed - that's the power of stigma in these parts.
I did a project with disabled kids while I was finishing my postgrad, and the difference is stunning. Australian parents are much more willing to go public with their kids' disabilities because they understand that spreading knowledge acts to reduce stigma. Some of the parents I have met have gone on national television to spread the word.
But I think slowly we are improving. All we need is more awareness and understanding. Media has a very important role to play here. -
Just wondering, will you rather talk about your sexual life or mental illness in your family?
Most of you will rather talk about your sexual life right? -
well mental illness, i don't really think its within my family. personally though, I needed counselling in JC due to some problems emotionally. I was having suicide thoughts, and I remember posting the whole thing in the forums b4. I do believe its essential that those who've managed to sort their problems out, share with others. In fact, I would rather not talk about sexual life.Originally posted by DeadPoet:Just wondering, will you rather talk about your sexual life or mental illness in your family?
Most of you will rather talk about your sexual life right? -
You race karts - of course you're suicidal!Originally posted by HENG@:well mental illness, i don't really think its within my family. personally though, I needed counselling in JC due to some problems emotionally. I was having suicide thoughts, and I remember posting the whole thing in the forums b4. I do believe its essential that those who've managed to sort their problems out, share with others. In fact, I would rather not talk about sexual life. -
Hmm... sort of a Death Wish?Originally posted by Gedanken:You race karts - of course you're suicidal!
-
Me too. Almost jumped.Originally posted by HENG@:well mental illness, i don't really think its within my family. personally though, I needed counselling in JC due to some problems emotionally. I was having suicide thoughts, and I remember posting the whole thing in the forums b4. I do believe its essential that those who've managed to sort their problems out, share with others. In fact, I would rather not talk about sexual life.
Was feeling damn lonely. Nothing seems to interest me. My life was in a mess.
But now okay liao, I think.