Students’ suicide posts on Facebook prompt calls to update Hong Kong’s traditional counselling strategies
Health talks and leaflets are too passive, mental health promotion should be included in a mobile app says Chinese University professor
An alarming trend of university students leaving suicide-related messages on Facebook groups has prompted calls for the government to change its counselling strategies.
While the trend was observed by the Federation of Youth Groups, the Post found more messages related to emotional distress and suicide on the Chinese University Facebook group, “CUHK Secrets”, than on other universities’ pages.
This came as the Education Bureau announced measures last Thursday to cope with the recent spate of student suicide cases, including organising seminars for teachers and parents, enhancing in-school counselling services and distributing information packs.
READ MORE: Hong Kong announces emergency measures after 22 suicides since the start of the academic year
Critics said such measures were “traditional” and not effective in reaching those who needed help.
“The mobile device is the language of the young generation... mental health promotion can be included in a mobile app which contains a screening component,” said Dr Lee Sing, a psychiatric professor at Chinese University.
Health talks and leaflets... can’t reach the most high-risk people
On the CUHK Secrets page, some users indicated suicidal thoughts, lamenting they had no one to share their sadness with, or were influenced by people who kept on sharing negative messages. One even put together a list of books related to suicide.
Another user invited people to contact him or her to share their feelings, but it was not clear whether the user had received any professional counselling training.