Set up a Catholic Ministry for psychiatric patients and their families: An open letter to Archbishop William Goh

4^th August 2014

 

Archbishop William Goh

Head of the Catholic Church in Singapore

Your Grace Archbishop William Goh,

I read your National Day Message on Singapore’s upcoming 49^th birthday and I’m encouraged by the points you have raised with regards to those who are on the fringes of society – such as those with psychiatric disorders – “A nation that goes forth” (CN, August 10).

I also applaud the Roman Catholic Prison Ministry (RCPM) for the compassion and support which they offer to prison inmates; to you – Archbishop Goh and the priests that stand alongside them in their rehabilitation journey –“Archbishop celebrates Mass with prison inmates” (CN, August 10).

Undoubtedly, the support from the Catholic Church will encourage the prisoners to reflect on their past mistakes and turn over a new leaf. 

Just as prisoners are given full support by the Catholic Church, Catholics who suffer fom mental illness also deserve equal support.   I know of several Catholics who are suffering from depression and other types of mental illness; and their caregivers need a helping hand because caring for a loved suffering from mental illness is often an isolated and arduous journey.  Priests are often at a lost when dealing with psychiatric patients as the illness is complex.

For many Catholics experiencing mental illness, the church can be both a place of welcome and alienation for them as well as their caregivers.  

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in four people will be affected by mental illness or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.  WHO has also reported that around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability – Worldwide. 

In Singapore, about 10 percent of the population or one in ten will be affected by mental illness.

 
Stigma, discrimination, neglect, loneliness and lack of support and understanding of mental illness prevent sufferers from seeking treatment. 

Although there is a Catholic VWO in CLARITY, the church needs to cast its net wider in order to reach out to those who feel awkward to step forward – be it for treatment or support as mental illness carries a heavy social stigma.  

To this end, I therefore urge you, Archbishop Goh to consider setting up a ministry dedicated to psychiatric patients and their families. Although it is an area that is challenging, I fervently believe that those who have walked the journey and have a passion for mental illness can help make a difference in the lives of those who are ostracized from society.  If we have a Prison Ministry, I don’t see why we cannot have a dedicated ministry to support people with mental illness.  

Through this ministry, there could public education talks on mental disorders held in churches to raise more awareness of mental illness with caregiver sharing skills to encourage and motivate caregivers to embrace caregiving as a noble job.  Volunteers in this ministry could also visit patients in psychiatric wards and sing, pray and engage them with the love that the church advocates for every human being.   With the assistance of the nurses in psychiatric hospitals, outings can also be arranged for psychiatric patients who are receiving treatment.   

With my 40 years’ experience in caring for my late wife who coped well with schizophrenia until her untimely passing in April this year, I will be first to volunteer my services. It’s a vocation which I have a passion for.  Moreover, my journey with my wife is a good example of how Catholics can keep their marriage vows intact by “caring and loving a spouse in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.”   

May I have your response, please, Your Grace?  Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Raymond Anthony Fernando

Advocate for the Mentally ill , Model Caregiver 2007 and Mental Health Champion 2010.

Volunteer with: The Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Silver Ribbon Singapore (SRS), CLUB HEAL and the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

 Footnote: (1) Archbishop Goh: I have written to you a few days ago, but have yet to secure a reply from your office. If it takes some time to think through this, at least provide me with an acknowledgement or an interim reply.  Keep the communications lines open, please - more so when I have take much effort to put this proposal up.



(2) What is needed to get this proposed ministry going is for the archdiocesan to tie up with CLARITY, SPI which has a Family Service Centre, volunteer Catholic doctors & nurses who are in mental health and the Catholic Nurses Guild. It may take some effort, but I believe it is worth investing in seeing the increasing number of people suffering from mental illness.  We must translate words into action.

Reply from CARITAS following my second letter to Archbishop William Goh:

Dear Raymond,

His Grace, Archbishop William Goh has forwarded your email to Caritas to look into your proposal to set up a dedicated ministry to support people with mental illness.

I am sure you are aware that CLARITY was incorporated in October 2010 with objective of alleviating people suffering from mental problems or issues. But you may not be aware that they have been doing great works in providing psycho-therapy and counselling, particularly for persons struggling with mild to moderate mental illness. They have organised art therapy open studio, mental wellness relaxation exercise, meditation and also facilitated support groups as part of the supportive therapy.

They have conducted psycho-education workshops and training for various groups and organisations

1. Understanding mental health - with Church of Risen Christ (befrienders to elderly)

2. Happiness within your reach – with ACMI (foreign domestic helpers)

3. Fridays with Clarity – an in-house developed mental wellness programme to reach those with mental illness but do not want to undergo therapy

As part of their promotion of mental wellness, they have conducted:

1. Mental Wellness Relaxation Exercises Programme – both in English and Chinese.

2. Open Studio Art Therapy

3. Art & Music Jamming

4. Pandan Rosette making workshop

They recently started 2 community programmes, one with Catholic Welfare Services (CWS) in the city area and the other with Harmony Activity Centre (HAC) in Aljunied area reaching out to those who are poor with mental illness or some form of psychiatric disorder, those who are either living alone or with a flat-mate. CLARITY has developed a supportive therapy programme for these two groups of identified beneficiaries separately to invite and integrate these them into a community of acceptance, empower them with independent living skills and integrate them to the larger society.

Your proposal to set up a ministry dedicated to psychiatric patients and their families especially their caregivers who needs a helping hand is only possible if it is done at parish level. But starting community based support groups in parish will take time to develop and manpower resources to coordinate and run the programmes. Currently, CLARITY is only able to serve those around the Yishun area where their office is and those with CWS and HAC, due to limited manpower resources. But this could only be built up over time, maybe in the next 3 to 5 years.

 

For your information, CLARITY has started working with St Anthony Church in Woodlands to start a wellness programme. For Risen Christ, they are working with their pastoral co-ordinator to explore how they can work together to support persons with mental health, especially when they are located at Agape Village next year.

I am sure with your 40 years’ of experience caring for your late wife, you would be a great volunteer. Perhaps you would like to start volunteering with either St Anthony Church or Risen Christ since they have already started some programmes. As mentioned earlier, to roll out in all Parishes would take some time.

Lastly, I understand from CLARITY that they have been providing care-giving assistance and arranging volunteers to be with your late wife in the last year or so until her untimely demise in April this year. May perpetual light shine upon her, may she rest in peace

God bless

Bernadette Lau

Executive Director
Caritas Singapore
 

 

Raymond's letter to The Sunday Times: Holistic approach needed to manage chronic illnesses

 

 

My letter to the Sunday Times on the above matter is published today, Sunday 3^rd August 2014.

Senior health correspondent Salma Khalik’s commentary (“Doc, could you speak slower, more simply”; last Sunday) highlights an issue facing both doctors and senior citizens.

It is never easy managing chronic illnesses, especially in the elderly. If their conditions are poorly managed, it can lead to other complex illnesses that require even more medication.

A holistic approach is needed. A good support network that includes caregivers, doctors, social workers and counsellors plays a vital role in the rehabilitation and recovery of the elderly sick, as well as those who are dying.

For novice caregivers who have the unenviable task of managing their loved ones with serious mental disorders, they need to be guided all the way by doctors and nurses when those they are caring for get hospitalised.

For instance, most caregivers are not aware that giving daily reports to psychiatrists on how the patient is responding in the wards, or when they are on home leave, can be help in the patient’s recovery.

An effective way to ensure that medication is taken properly is for the caregiver to type out a list of the prescribed drugs and place it near where they are kept.

This list can indicate the types of medication to be taken for a particular illness and the dosage, while giving some brief details of the drugs, such as the colour or any special design on them.

Finally, for end-of-life issues, palliative care services that involve family caregivers and regular doctors need to be put in place as they offer an extra level of support.

After the patient dies, there must be a high level of support for the grieving caregivers. Do we have this in place?

Raymond Anthony Fernando

 

Raymond A Fernando's letter to The Straits Times: 'Hands-on' experience in marriage counts too

 

My  letter on the above subject is published in The Straits Times today, Saturday 2^nd August 2014.

 

With the Government’s goal of encouraging couples to get married and start families, news of a drop in the number of marriages and a rise in divorces rates is cause for concern (“Marriages down, divorces up”; Wednesday).

While I agree that many young couples place priority on building their careers, while others are held back by financial constraints, I am sure we can come up with suitable programmes to help them see the joys of marriage and parenthood.

To motivate young people to tie the knot, they must see at first hand how seasoned couples have lived their marriages to the letter – for example, in caring for a spouse “in sickness and in health, for better or for worse”. Someone who has had “hands-on” experience in being married for decades is just as qualified as anyone with a string of degrees to counsel young people.

Several years ago, I offered to share my experience through motivational talks, but was rejected outright by a government official, who told me I was not a marriage counsellor and did not possess a degree.  Yet, I had kept my marriage vows intact for 40 years.

Keeping the sanctity of marriage intact influences various dimensions of life, such as physical health and longevity, mental health and happiness, economic well-being, and raising children in a conducive environment where love becomes second nature.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has often called on Singaporeans to step forward to help the Government as it cannot solve all problems alone.

So it is only proper for civil servants and even religious bodies to embrace those who are willing to step forward with life experiences and not be so sticky about paper qualifications.

Raymond Anthony Fernando

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/hands-experience-marriage-counts-too-20140802

Raymond’s press letter to TODAY Newspaper: Schizophrenia research will lead to better treatments

My letter on the above subject was published in MediaCorp’s TODAY newspaper on Wednesday 30^th July 2014.

The report “Researchers shed new light on schizophrenia” (July 23) stated that researchers from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) had identified genetic markers that would enable better and early identification of those who might develop schizophrenia.

In the long run, this will pave the way for scientists to develop better treatments, which is most encouraging for schizophrenia sufferers and their families.

If mental illness does not hit one generation, it may hit the next. My late wife battled schizophrenia for 44 years and suffered 14 relapses; her parents did not have mental illness, but her maternal grandmother did.

There are also trigger factors that can cause a mental breakdown. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh claim to have discovered why some people are more prone to suffering from stress than others: They shared their mother’s stress while in the womb.

My wife’s mother and grandmother lived through the Japanese Occupation. While she was born eight years later, whenever she suffered a relapse of her schizophrenia, she believed a war was taking place and would become very frightened.

Many people do not realise prolonged war, a succession of natural catastrophes, terrorism and even epidemics have triggered traumas that are difficult to cure. During the SARS period, my wife suffered a serious relapse and took nine months to recover.

Carers of schizophrenia sufferers can give an insightful peek into the condition. To this end, to further develop their research, the team from IMH and GIS can interview seasoned carers, whose valuable experience can make a healthy contribution.

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO

http://www.todayonline.com/voices/schizophrenia-research-will-lead-better-treatments

 

Raymond's letter to The Straits Times: Mental illness is a disability too

My letter to The Straits Times on the above matter s published today, Monday 28^th July 2014.

I applaud SingTel for donating $1.1 million to develop innovative solutions to help people with disabilities in the new Social Innovation Hub, which will be set up next year ("New Social Innovation Hub to help the disabled"; last Wednesday).

SingTel is working closely with SG Enable - a government agency set up to offer services to people with disabilities - to develop the centre.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about people with disabilities.

Many members of the public recognise only those physically challenged.

But there is also a hidden disability - mental illness.

Disability is defined by experts as the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.

Through the five-year Enabling Masterplan, the Centre for Enabled Living has drawn up many programmes for people with physical disabilities, but there is not one programme for people with mental illness.

This was one of the concerns I had raised with the Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing during the Social Service Partners Conference on May 21. It did not resolve my concerns.

It is sad that people with mental illness and their caregivers do not receive the same level of support as those with physical disabilities and autism. How then can we call this an inclusive society?

SG Enable chief executive Ku Geok Boon had mentioned that people with disabilities and the community can come together at the Social Innovation Hub to spark new ideas and solutions.

I would like to ask whether SG Enable will include those with mental illness.

Raymond Anthony Fernando

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/mental-illness-disability-too-20140728

 

 

 

 

 

Raymond's Letter to The New Paper: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD TO PULP BOOKS

Check out my press letter that is published in The New Paper today, Tues, 18^th July on page 9 on the pulping of books by NLB.

Sincerely,

Raymond Anthony Fernando

Following complaints that three children’s books were not “pro-family”, the National Library Board (NLB) has decided to pulp these books, which has angered some people as reported in “Blood boils over book ban” (The New Paper, July 11).

There is a heated debate going on in the mainstream media and on the Internet on this decision, which some camps view as being hasty and discriminatory.  

While some people are not in favour of such books reaching out to the young minds, others feel that people should have a choice of what they and their children can read.

Perhaps there can be some compromise so that both opinions can be given due fair consideration.  Otherwise, we will become a divided society.

To this end, I would suggest that where books are controversial in nature, NLB could open an area in its libraries that allows for some flexibility. 

A category, like “parental guidance is advised”, could have such books on display. 

With this new feature, parents can first be advised to read the book; and when bringing it back for their kids to read, should guide and educate them on the values and morals which they deem fit.  

We should give more credit to parents who should be entrusted to advise their kids on what is acceptable behaviour and what is not.

This advisory message to parents could be similar to the ones shown on television where parents have the option to guide and educate their kids while viewing certain shows.

Let us not forget that with the easy access of the Internet, children can be exposed to a flood of information that includes pornography.

 

So while parents are keenly observing what their children see on the computer, they may not be aware that such undesirable material could make its way into the handphones of children.

 

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO

Raymond Anthony Fernando's letter to The New Paper: MAN WHO STOPPED ELDERLY NEIGHBOUR FROM JUMPING – Encourage more to step forward and help others

My letter to The New Paper is published today, Thursday 26^th June 2014, page 17.

I am deeply touched by the kindness and compassion shown by Mr Liew for his elderly neighbour, as reported in “He kept shouting for me to let go” (The New Paper, June 24).

Despite his exhaustion, Mr Liew did not give up and was determined to save the life of the suicidal man.  

The authorities should commend this Good Samaritan for his public spiritedness so that others will be encouraged to step forward and help anyone who thinks of giving up on life. 

Our Government has always stressed the importance of citizens looking out for one another, and undoubtedly Mr Liew has risen to the occasion.

In our fast-paced society, stress has become a reality that we must learn to accept and manage.  But there will always be people who will not be able to handle all that life throws at them.

 As a caring society, we must help those who are unable to help themselves. The elderly man and his family need all the help they can get.

QUICK SUPPORT

I hope that the authorities will step in to support them quickly because a person who attempts suicide is at a higher risk of doing it again.  Sadly, people who are suicidal or depressed often find it awkward to reach out for help. 

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently told the Mayors of the Community Development Councils to reach out to the needy, and it is important for the authorities to do so, at times even when no help has been asked for.  

RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO