IMH Open House on May 20 to feature mental health workshops, car boot bazaar

Celebrating its 95th anniversary this year, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) will hold an open house on 20 May from 9am to 3pm featuring mental health workshops and a car boot bazaar.

The unique bazaar will showcase a variety of items like hand-made accessories and crafts by local makers, plant collectibles, toys, gifts, clothes, bags and essential oils.

Throughout the event, there will be a series of mental health and wellness sharing sessions including Hear Our Stories!  where participants can hear from persons in recovery.

Featuring IMH advocates like Amrish Vincent Nathan, a peer support specialist who suffered from substance dependence in the past, the sessions will dive into the definition of recovery, exploring the difficulties they faced in their mental health journey.

Session 1 of Hear Our Stories! is available for registration. The talk will take place from 11am to 12pm at Block 1, Level 2, Library, Institute of Mental Health.

The event will also feature hands-on workshops like Hydroponics Workshops: Sowing Seeds for Mental Health, where participants can harvest vegetables at IMH’s campus hydroponics garden.

The workshop will cover topics like the therapeutic effects of gardening, with participants being able to try their hand at sowing seeds and harvesting greens planted by IMH patients. 

Hydroponics Workshops: Sowing Seeds for Mental Health will be carried out over two sessions, from 9.30am to 10.30am and 11.30am to 12.30pm. Both sessions will be held at Nurtureville Garden.

The event is recommended for adults or ages 16 and above. Interested participants can register online, with the workshop costing $6 per person.

Visitors can also look forward to talks like Mind Your Language: Nurturing the Mental Health of Youths, where the IMH REACH (Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health) team will shed light on how parents and caregivers can create a positive and nurturing environment for children and youth through the use of language. 

Participants can also learn more about mental health concerns commonly faced by primary, secondary and junior college students, as well as the symptoms to look out for. 

The IMH REACH team will also discuss the various avenues of support and intervention available to children and youth in the community as well.

The talk will take place from 10am to 11am at the Block 1, Level 2, Lecture Hall. Interested participants are required to reserve a spot online.

The Institute of Mental Health is located at 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747. More information about the 2023 IMH Open House can be found on their website.