Celebrity Life

With billions of dollars pumped into the sector resulting in a proliferation of services from luxurious sanctuaries to dedicated apps, we talk to Sonia Samtani, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah and Megan Lam about where the future of mental healthcare is headed.

After tennis player Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open last year to take care of her own mental health – for which she was penalised with a fine but received much support in the public for standing up for her own wellbeing – she penned a poignant piece in Time magazine that said, “It’s OK to not be OK.”

The following month, at the Tokyo Olympics, American gymnast Simone Biles shocked the world when she withdrew from her event, putting her mental health and physical safety first. The issue suddenly became a talking point at the Games, driving the conversation from merely raising awareness of the issue to creating positive action for change.

And not just for athletes. These days, millennials and Gen-Zs openly discuss their struggles and their therapists, and influencers tout the effectiveness of BetterHelp. Mental health has never been so talked about as it is now.

Hypnotherapy instructor Sonia Samtani, who runs All About You Wellness Centre, recalls a time when few people knew what the term mental health even meant and her centre, which she opened in 2013, was associated with going crazy. Fortunately, things have changed since then. “In some strata of society, it’s even considered cool to have a therapist,” Samtani says.

Today, mental healthcare is an industry, with billions of dollars poured into developing not just bricks-and-mortar centres and services, but also products that help people to manage their health and mental conditions from the anonymity of their mobile devices.

According to Report Ocean, revenues in 2021 from the mental-health market amounted to US$397.4 billion and are forecasted to reach US$539.97 billion by 2030. And while North America leads the sector and is likely to continue to dominate during the forecast period, the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to grow at the fastest rate.

In conservative Hong Kong, there are still barriers of entry against traditional mental healthcare. “Many people still subscribe to the notion that we need to pretend everything is good in our lives and that going to see a therapist means that there’s something wrong or defective with us,” says Samtani. “People haven’t fully comprehended that seeing a therapist for emotional pain is as normal as seeing a doctor for physical pain.”

The pandemic has definitely helped push people to look inwards and begin moving beyond the social stigma. It also helps that these days mental-health facilities look more like private clubhouses and spa resorts than a doctor’s surgery, enabling people to feel safer and more at ease when they walk into a therapy session.

Asaya, the Rosewood Hong Kong’s luxurious wellness sanctuary, goes beyond spa and facial treatments to offer a wide range of holistic therapies aimed at overall health, from skin and physical treatments to nutrition, sleep and emotional balance. Although not a clinic per se, it certainly puts a new spin on the meaning of taking care of our wellbeing. Held within Asaya’s tranquil surroundings, an Expressive Arts therapy session that deals with grief and trauma, or a quiet chat with a Naturopath doctor on adopting healthier habits over a cup of tea seem much more a luxurious experience than a clinical one.

And then, of course, there’s the newly opened mindish mental-health studio. The brainchild of Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, the studio promises to elevate the experience of mental-health services while speaking to the needs of progressive communities. “Mental health is health,” says Lythgoe-Zafrullah. “It’s time we start normalising access to it.”

Touted as the first of its kind in the world, the mindish studio in Central offers a safe members-only community with a private lounge, six private session rooms, a meditation room and an events space. Designed to make members feel both grounded and empowered, the centre offers a wide range of therapies, plus complimentary group meditations and sound-bath sessions that aid growth and healing.

What’s special about mindish is that it understands the mentality of any newcomer going into therapy. “Starting therapy can be scary and landing the right therapist is often hit and miss,” says Lythgoe-Zafrullah. “Our research is very clear: people are often mismatched with what they need. This not only means that there’s currently widespread consumer dissatisfaction in the market, but so many people don’t get the support they need.”

To raise accountability, each mindish member is assigned a dedicated personal growth manager from the outset, who plans and manages their experience and makes recommendations around suitable therapy, meditation classes and events, and subsequently provides follow up and support as they work to implement healthy behaviour. “We’re the first mental-health facility in the world to implement this model, which removes the burden from the consumer having to know what they need,” says Lythgoe-Zafrullah.

Again, the experience at mindish is a luxurious one – the space is designed to make you feel pampered and good about yourself. It’s a private sanctuary for self-improvement, where members can feel good about working on their mental health because they’re entitled to good mental health, and not feel as if they’re there because there’s something wrong with them.

There’s one drawback, even as increasing numbers of people – and especially those aged between 35 to 55 – seek out therapy: places like mindish and All About You Wellness come at a price.

However, technological advancements have made mental healthcare more accessible than ever before by providing an alternative for those who may not be able to afford traditional mental healthcare, or who may still feel uneasy about seeking help in person. The pandemic for one, has made the latter point much more difficult.

The proliferation of technology in the mental-health sector has brought us apps such as BetterHelp and Mentor360, which connect users to mental-health services, offering counselling and therapy online, as well as phone and text communications with licensed therapists.

But one app stands out from the rest. Clara utilises artificial intelligence and is labelled a behavioural wellness companion that looks after the mind and lifestyle for each unique user. The app was developed by Megan Lam and Caleb Chiu, who founded Neurum Health in 2018 to bridge the gap between public health services, private clinical care and real human beings in their everyday life, using data to get rid of guesswork when it comes to health.

Lam’s own personal health journey began after losing two close family members to suicide. Getting sick wasn’t the worst bit, Lam felt. “It was the stigma and how much guesswork there was in even knowing what red flags looked like, and where and what help is available and needed … The care journey is so opaque, we’re just feeling our way through with no headlights,” she says.

She turned to technology for answers, calling it “a tool that can address such guesswork and barriers by re-designing and augmenting the journey to the right support, in a way that makes people comfortable and confident.”

Lam also purposefully chose to base her company in Hong Kong, to better understand and cater to the mindset and lifestyle here, especially among older people for whom the subject can still be taboo. There’s still the notion that these issues are best kept private, she says. “While we’re doing our bit in raising awareness and discussing the topic, especially in a culturally relevant way, we also want to ensure there’s a solution people felt comfortable using, and rooted in science,” she says.

Clara gives each user unique access to hundreds of interactive exercises and educational content to maintain their behavioural health, all of which are backed by studies to help them handle a variety of situations that best fit their story. It’s the first and only mental-health app to use AI to deliver a personalised care journey that’s designed to grow and adapt to each user. The app is rolled out initially by enterprises to maintain the wellbeing of their organisations, and currently serves more than 125,000 employees at AXA, PALO IT, Swire and New World Development.

Lam believes it offers accessible mental healthcare for the future: “87.8 percent of the time, people find our recommendations relevant and useful,” she says. And while the model is still only available on a corporate basis, a consumer offering is being planned. “Since the pandemic started, we saw a 70 percent increase in inbound enquiries on Clara, so we’re currently working hard on a version of Clara that’s for everybody.”

Will AI and online services one day replace the need to talk to a real therapist? I posed this question to all three interviewees. The short answer is no.

Lam would be the first to agree that the strengths of AI and human support serve different purposes. “Nothing can replace talking to a real therapist,” she says. “We recommend having resources for both, depending on the individual’s need. Clara is a great companion in paving the stepping stones towards learning about mental health, and also for those looking to maintain their wellness and learn exercises to keep daily stresses at bay.” It can also prompt the need to seek human support, providing personalised recommendations for appropriate help and enabling calls to be made directly from the app.

Samtani has some reservations, saying she regards AI as being functional only when the user is in the right state of mind. “I’d say that AI will be able to do many things that therapy may do, but it cannot replace therapy. To use AI, the client will need to open the app and input data in order to receive the appropriate therapy. When people are in breakdown, it’s hard for them to do this, because they’re not in a resourceful state. A therapist can meet a client where they’re at, move them along to be in a resourceful place and then check if the client has processed their trauma enough to learn from it and use their wisdom to make a different choice in the future. Technology can be a huge support, yet I don’t see it replacing or being better than therapy.”

Lythgoe-Zafrullah sees technology as part of the solution, “but not the entire solution”, he says. “Our obsession with the idea that in the present day, technology is the salvation of our times has overridden our sense of critical thinking. Mental health is fundamentally a human concern and requires a human solution.”

Lythgoe-Zafrullah warns against using apps that are poorly informed, citing one of his staff’s previous experiences at a large employee-wellness app where she used to manage more than 1,000 members. “She openly admits she wasn’t able to provide the quality of care she wished she could have provided because she was spread too thin,” he says.

Ultimately, technology is a tool that can supplement the fundamental human experience. It may not replace the need for real therapists, but that was never the goal. As apps and online services such as these reach millions daily – people who might never have turned to mental health due to stigma, price point or other reasons – the best thing tech has brought to the mental health sector is accessibility.

[Header image from Getty Images]

The post Hong Kong’s Mental Health Experts Weigh In on the Future of Mental Healthcare appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

What does the executive director of an international preschool and primary school have in common with the head of a fine jewellery brand? A vested interest in the next generation and education, it seems.

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Learn more about homeschooling a child with learning issues. I am a former teacher who myself had and have learning issues. I don’t find learning new skills easy on any level. It frustrates me. My memory is also not the best when it comes to retaining stats, places and detailed knowledge on new issues. It’s […]

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Managing partner and COO of ABZD Capital realises there are more dimensions to welness than physical and mental health.

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Start 2022 as you mean to carry on – holistically. Here are four wellness programmes and overnight stays that should give you an edge when it comes to sticking to New Year resolutions.

We might not know what resolutions you’ve been making, but prioritising and focusing on mental and physical wellbeing is something everyone can benefit from. Here are four wellness programmes worth looking into that should enable you to feel your feelings, pick up healthy habits and start the year right.

Wellness Programmes & Overnight Stays to Book Now

"Empower from Within" at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

Rooted in healing, mindfulness practices and nutrition, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong’s "Empower from Within" holistic wellness initiative comprises three objective-focused wellness programmes that include consultations, kinesiology therapy, yoga, detox, breathwork, sleep meditation and sound therapy.

• The one-and-a-half-day "Deep Sleep" programme is designed to improve the quality of your slumber, with experts identifying your sleep needs and empowering you with sleep-promoting habits. The HK$6,500 package includes a wellness consultation, kinesiology therapy, Abhyanga and Shirodhara massage treatment, breathwork and guided sleep meditation.
• Also lasting a day and a half, the "Restore and Realign" programme is ideal for those who feel sluggish and tired, and who seek a fresh start. It works by kickstarting fatigued adrenal glands, helping you manage stress and anxiety, detoxifying the body and fortifying it with powerful antioxidants. Also priced at HK$6,500, it includes a wellness consultation, spa treatments, meditation and breathwork, vibrational sound therapy and detox yoga.
• And at HK$5,500, the "Journey of Motherhood" programme is tailored for expectant and new mothers, helping them prepare for pregnancy and post-partum discomfort. It includes cranial sacral therapy, spa rituals and pre-natal or for-women yoga with an Ikigai practitioner.

All programmes include a wellness lunch and relaxation in the spa’s facilities. They can also be combined with an overnight stay. Find out more by emailing or calling The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.

The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central; spa.hkg@fourseasons.com; +852 3196 8900

Sensational Mindfulness Retreat at WM Hotel Sai Kung

Held on January 9-10, the two-day one-night Sensational Mindfulness Retreat promises to enhance your wellbeing and set you up for the rest of 2022. Hosted by a team of wellness experts including Jasmine Liu of HyggeWellbeing, Simon Hui of Mindful Studio HK, Raymond Mak of FarmacyHK, Terence Lee of GITONE, sound alchemist Malbert Lee and Dr Emilie Berthet Clairet, the programme is designed to reconnect you with your senses and surroundings, and provide inspiration on living a more conscious life.

The Sensational Mindfulness Retreat includes a tea ceremony, meditation practice, principles of mindful farming classes, a gut health talk, a gong bath, sunrise yoga and mindful calligraphy. Priced at HK$3,800 (per person in a shared room) or HK$4,800 (for a single room), it includes one night of hotel accommodation, dinner and breakfast.

You can find out more by calling 5668 9008, or emailing hello@hyggewellbeing.co or mailbox@mindfulstuiohk.com

WM Hotel Sai Kung, 28 Wai Man Road, Sai Kung; hello@hyggewellbeing.co, mailbox@mindfulstuiohk.com, +852 5668 9008

"Asaya Hybrid 360", Asaya at Rosewood Hong Kong x Hybrid Gym Group

Rosewood Hong Kong’s pioneering wellness centre is partnering with Hybrid Gym Group Hong Kong in the immersive Asaya Hybrid 360 programme, a bespoke, 18-week approach to wellness supported by coaches at every step of the way: assessment, goal setting, roadmap, therapies and personalised treatments, and rehabilitation plans, as well as skin health, body nutrition and naturopathic remedy.

Each customised experience begins with a series of consultations. Hybrid will analyse body composition, joint range of motion, body imbalance or instability, and nutrition, physical activity, stress levels and other potentially negative factors. Asaya, on the other hand, kicks off with a facial skin-health analysis, rehab/posture-correction assessments, and naturopathy and mental-wellness consultations.

Priced at HK$80,000, each Asaya Hybrid 360 programme includes a personalised food and supplement plan and 36 training sessions with Hybrid Gym Group, 10 tailored sessions with Asaya Wellness Practitioners and complimentary access to Asaya classes, fitness centre and swimming pool. Find out more by contacting Asaya.

Alternatively, you can book into an Asaya Daycation or Wellcation (a daycation plus a night's stay at Asaya Lodge or at Rosewood), that include one 60-minute session of your choice from options including singing bowl therapy, mindfulness meditation, expressive arts therapy, functional insight training, active isolated stretching, sports therapy, and one 60-minute treatment. You can find out more here.

Asaya at Rosewood Hong Kong, Rosewood Hong Kong, K11 MUSEA, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui; hongkong.asaya@rosewoodhotels.com, +852 3891 8588

The Mandarin Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

To help you achieve greater wellbeing through the power of the mind and start your journey to self-improvement, certified hypnotherapist Christine Deschemin is running a series of group and one-on-one hypnosis workshops at The Mandarin Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

• The hour-long Hypno-relaxation Workshop puts the body into a deep state of relaxation in which the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, decreasing heart rate, respiration and blood pressure while boosting the immune system and digestion. It’s priced at HK$1,500.
• At HK$1,750, The 75-minute Slimming Hypnosis Workshop works on the mind-body connection to healthy eating habits, focusing on improving your relationship with food.
• And in the hour-long one-on-one Bespoke Hypnotherapy Workshop, Deschemin helps you to help you to conquer personal struggles, from sleep deprivation to general stress and anxiety – and even phobias. This tailor-made session costs HK$2,550

The Mandarin Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central; mohkg-spa@mohg.com; +852 2825 4888

The post Hit Reset: 4 Wellness Programmes and Overnight Stays to Book Into Now appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Shanyan Fok Koder and Richard Bassett explain how a Hong Kong art entrepreneur joined forces with a former special-forces soldier to launch a health and mental wellbeing app, Mentor360.

"Mental health and mental fitness are universal concerns," says Shanyan Fok Koder. "And regardless of your demographic, social status, your job or your age, it’s something everyone has to deal with."

Shanyan Fok Koder & Richard Bassett on Mental Health App Mentor360

The Mentor360 app dropped on World Mental Health Day in October, the cumulation of the last 20 months of work and conversations (usually across continents over Zoom) between former military man Richard Bassett and worldly art advisor Koder. A month later, I’m sitting with both in a North London café talking over slices of pizza.

Their app, they hope, offers everyone a holistic 360 guide and framework to “finding your formula” for mental and physical wellbeing. It uses a hybrid approach, with a core layer of clinicians and professional Mentors and then celebrity Ambassadors (who’ve publicly shared meaningful life stories) critical for building noise and momentum.

"I’d been in the military for a long time. And there were a couple of incidents in my life that made me want to create something," Bassett, the CEO, explains. "Firstly, it was my father committing suicide. Then my son had a bit of misdirection. And several of my friends in the military had PTSD issues or adjustment disorders."

"The biggest issue is why people wouldn’t come forward and say they’ve got a problem?” he asks.

“Unlike some apps, we’re not trying to get people hooked. Come on to it when you need it”

— Richard Bassett

The answer often lay in culture, lack of education or concerns about privacy that prevent many from seeking help. With that came Bassett’s idea of creating an app that functions as a “non-judgmental toolkit” with content validated by experts – who include coaches, performance psychologists, mental health-specialising nurses and a clinical psychologist.

Basset’s link with Koder came when his best friend, ex-special forces colleague and TV star Jason Fox, sat next to a pregnant Koder at a charity fundraiser for Born (which researches to prevent premature birth) in late 2019. As the pair talked about their passions for mental health and children’s wellbeing, the connection to Bassett’s idea became quickly apparent.

"Foxy told me that I have to meet his friend, Richard, who’s building this app," Koder recalls. "I was always wanting to support things that are very meaningful and close to my heart … and now Jason is actually our key mentor. The partnership between Richard and I was almost like two parts of a jigsaw puzzle come together."

Although some might go to the app for help with stress, trauma or even resources to help with suicidal feelings, Mentor360 is designed specifically as a three-dimensional offering that will also encourage fitness, workouts, performance and meditation or more clinical matters.

"We wanted to maintain the human factor as a constant throughout. So it feels like somebody has given you some advice rather than some process-driven machine learning," Bassett adds.

The co-founders might come from two different worlds, but the unlikely partnership speaks to the ubiquity of the issues at hand. Bassett’s 25-year military career saw him being appointed the first ever Command Sergeant Major within the UK Special Forces military group. "It was at that stage where I was asked if I wanted to run defence,” he says. “At that point, I thought, I’ve kind of had my fill of the military now, it’s time to move on."

Koder meanwhile grew up in Hong Kong and the UK as the daughter of Li Ka-shing’s "right-hand man" Canning Fok, carving out a career in the arts and taking over her family’s impressive collection. As a female art entrepreneur and mother, her challenges would be different.

"When I had the misfortune of losing three babies to miscarriage and dealing with that emotional fallout, it led me to want to support this as a cause," Koder divulges. "If there’d been something like this app available to me, I don’t think I’d have suffered as much as I did emotionally. It’s a topic that’s still very taboo, even in this day and age … and while you eventually find your own community, at the very beginning, you do feel very alone."

Both were clearly driven towards the app through deeply personal experiences. Bassett saw first-hand how soldiers who’d done several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered – his best friend, Fox, had left the forces with PTSD. Perhaps machismo or fear of institutional repercussions meant that the issue was often ignored or hidden in the military – but he hopes that Mentor360’s holistic approach can gently lead people to explore mental fitness alongside physical performance too.

The male-female perspectives of the pair offer a well-rounded, powerful tool. And while the wellness space is already crowded, Mentor360 stands out by being so broad, human-focused and non-prescriptive.

There’s been exciting traction too. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded in more than 176 countries, with the UK, the US and Australia leading. British schools have reached out and it’s one governance board away from being trialled within the National Health Service (NHS), which means added clinical risk management in the app. That has been an important validation, says Bassett, "especially when an institution like that has picked it out from a huge spectrum of apps on the market today."

Covid-19 and lockdowns have helped throw light on mental health, taking the conversation more mainstream. The timeliness has hit home; as Bassett says, “there’s a lot of people now struggling with the transition between Covid and normality”.

Koder tells us that the plan is to serve individuals but also institutions such as the NHS and the military. There’s also the option of “white labelling” it, so the app can be packaged and tailored to certain industries or corporate employees. In the future, might they look more global, with different languages and translations? Absolutely, the pair say, but they’re taking it “slow and steady”. There’s been interest from American corporations and Koder says that she’s keen to push into Asia very soon. Although going truly global might mean translating for languages, cultures and tone, as well as working with diverse psychologists, it remains a future ambition.

Mentor360 may be extra helpful in cultures where mental health is still relatively taboo. As Koder says, "I think, coming from our Asian culture, it speaks volumes to me – so much of our culture is about still performance or hiding a lot of what you’re feeling."

"Unlike some apps,” Bassett adds, "what we’re not trying to do is create a hook or get people hooked. Come on to it when you need it, and if you don’t need it for a while because you’re good, you can just put it away … We’re starting to see those patterns in the trend analysis."

To get a little personal, I ask what works for them individually to keep a healthy mind and body. Bassett’s formula revolves around daily exercise, time with the family, dogs and good sleep – even the occasional glass of wine on the sofa in front of a crackling fireplace. Koder’s happiness hacks centre around motherhood, being content and at peace in her skin, and looking at life with a certain romanticism: "I always love to see the poetry in my day,” she says, "and I think it’s important to just pause throughout the day, check-in and acknowledge that I’ve achieved these things and I should be proud of myself, rather than just rushing on to the next thing."

The post A Mentor In Your Pocket: Shanyan Fok Koder and Richard Bassett on Mentor360, Their Health and Mental Wellbeing App appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

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The post Celebrating the unseen wins in life appeared first on The Expater.

Bravo, we made it. What. A. Year. For so many reasons, 2021 has been a tough one. And I’m guessing it’s been especially hard for…

The post Celebrating the unseen wins in life appeared first on The Expater.