Somsamay Vidamaly

I chose to study Clinical Psychology with the aspiration to be the change in my home country, Laos. I'll take my professional knowledge and practice in mental health and clinical psychology back home with me to facilitate my career goal as a practitioner with high standards for community development. Being a clinical psychologist to me means to be a supporter, educator, researcher, and advocator.

The need for the importance of mental health to be emphasised is more evident as shown by the effects of the pandemic and lockdown on mental health in recent times. On top of that, with the presence of mental health stigma, it's our duty as future practitioners to aid in this regard.

Melati Enida Binti Pahami

My aspirations that I hope to achieve being a clinical psychologist is to be capable to help individuals to get back on track when life challenges them and they feel overwhelmed, to be their extra pair of eyes and ears from an outside view and give them more insights on what they are going through, and to be an author of their self-effort journey in improving their health.

Being a clinical psychologist means being able to do what I love which is coversing and helping others but equip with clinical knowledge skills and evidence-based solutions. I'd like to contribute my service to different populations and hospitals in Malaysia. We need more clinical psychologist especially in the government sector because the waiting list to see a psychiatrist is long. Clinical psychologists can support psychiatrists in terms of psychotherapy and balance the demand and supply. In future, I'd like to open my own psychological service centre with a dance studio to incorporate dance as part of therapy to improve mental health in a creative way while creating a safe and supportive environment for all individuals.

We need more emphasis on the importance of mental health because, in Malaysia, it's ignored and most times individuals don't process it. They trust that time will heal. However, in some cases when it's left untreated, it worsen and disrupts their daily living. Mental health awareness is crucial for individuals to understand that their symptoms can be addressed and managed.

Loke Ji Nie

Richard Evans once said, "It's often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars." That's the impact I aspire to make in the lives of others. To remind them that, in their moment of darkness, there lies the hope for them to see their light.  It means I've fulfilled my own wish to listen to the unheard. Being present for those who need it the most have always held meaning to me and to be able to do this each day as a career is a personal blessing to me. 

In Malaysia especially, I feel that there's a higher demand needed for clinical psychologists to enter the field, as the awareness of mental health increases in our society today. With the public being more accepting of conversations going around mental health, it's crucial to have those in the field to address, guide, and cater to the needs of the people. Mental illness can come in the form of smiles and laughter. It can go unseen and unheard. The louder our voices, the further it'll reach. The more we encourage one another to speak on the importance of mental health, the more we are helping those who are silently in pain, sometimes without us knowing.

Benjamin Looi Tink Wei

"Psychologist? Are you able to read my mind?" While we do get this a lot, sorry to say, we can't read your mind.

However, we're trained to see what others might not realise — the small cues that gives us insight on a person's mental state. In our current society, I realised there are many young adolescents suffering from depression. In fact, they've been suffering for years before they sought for help.

To my knowledge, most children tell their parents they need help but their parents are lost and unsure of how to help their child. This incident made me think: What if we, psychologists, help these children before their condition turn from mild to severe? What if we could find multiple strategies to raise awareness and share information with the underprivileged community?

These thoughts led me here and I'm eager to learn and understand more on psychological disorders and the methods of diagnosis, assessments, and interventions to help those in need.

Anna Ashviny Ragu

As a clinical psychologist, I hope to bridge the gap of inequality of mental health services in underprivileged communities. I find that it's unfair that so many people do not have access to such services due to the lack of resources.

Being a clinical psychologist to me is a way I can give back to my community and others less fortunate. More emphasis should be place on mental health as it's vital to living a healthy happy life.

Isaac Voo Fu Khai

The prevalence of people with mental illness is increasing over years. However, the stigma of mental illness like them being are someone who's crazy, a psycho, acting, just being lazy, and more, are stopping people for seeking help.

I wish I can contribute to reduce the stigma and spread awareness to the public, especially in my hometown Sabah. We need more clinical psychologist in the whole Malaysia. According to Malaysia's Mental Health Advisory Council, there's currently a severe shortage of clinical psychologist where the ratio of a psychologist to patient is 1:980,000. This needs to be improved, especially in my hometown, which currently only has 1 clinical psychologist practicing in the public hospital.

Mental illness is an illness, people can't fake or finding a reason to be lazy. The public should have a correct view on what's happening to those currently experiencing mental illness.