Free Mental Health Workshops for Thai Teens in February

Image: Love Frankie / Courtesy

BANGKOK — In a city where counselling sessions can run for thousands of baht per hour, free mental health workshops for teens will run for four therapeutic days.

At “The Nook” four-day workshop from Feb. 29 to March 3 at Yelo House, young people will be able to speak to mental health professionals and participate in group therapy activities for free. The event is hosted by Love Frankie, a Bangkok-based creative agency.

“Data from the Mental Health Department shows that there are currently 1 million young Thais dealing with clinical depression and around 2 million at risk of developing this and other mental illnesses,” Matt Love, one of the founders of Love Frankie said in a statement. “This situation along with the increase of suicide rates among youth in Thailand requires us to act fast and show up for the young people struggling with mental illnesses.”

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The event’s details and schedule, which will include mindfulness and art therapy workshops, are yet to be released.

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Department of Mental Health said on last year’s World Suicide Prevention Day – Sept. 10 – that more than 3,000 Thais of 100,000 committed suicide, or 11 to 12 people a day between 2018 and 2019. The average age was 45, with more than 80 percent men.

Although increasingly common, getting mental health treatment is still viewed with a stigma among Thais, especially among the older population. It’s not uncommon to get a response from manus pa (“super aunties”) that mental illnesses are “karma” that can be solved with a dose of Buddhism.