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Fiona Sun

For two years, Hongkonger Ng Mei-ling only left her flat for regular visits to a psychiatrist.
She said she had to quit her clerk job after she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder due to work pressure in 2017.
Her symptoms had worsened. She had a rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, insomnia and a lack of appetite.
“I couldn’t accept my illness at first,” Ng said. “I stayed at home and didn’t go out at all unless I had to see a doctor.”
Ng is at ease recounting this particularly dark period of her life and has even gone on to design a collection of clothes that tells her personal story of recovery from mental illness and raises public awareness about the condition.
“In fashion design, I discovered I was able to have achievements and I shouldn’t underestimate myself,” she said.
“People with mental illness can achieve things.”
Ng, who continues to take medication, said she managed to get back on her feet with the help of Phoenix Clubhouse, a community-based centre that serves people with mental illness and prepares them to return to the workplace. She also helps other patients at the centre.
Government statistics show that mental health problems affect one in seven adults in Hong Kong.
According to 2023-24 data from the Hospital Authority, about 300,000 people received psychiatric services that year.
Ng said she used to struggle with persistent negative thoughts and emotions, and had to undergo transcranial magnetic stimulation – a non-invasive brain procedure to treat depression and other conditions.
She later found comfort in designing clothes, a hobby she had cherished since her childhood, which she said helped her concentrate and turn negative thoughts into creating something tangible.
She spent five years developing her “Forms Without Sound” collection, which was exhibited at Phoenix Clubhouse in February. It includes 10 pieces divided into four categories to represent the different stages of her illness, from the initial onset and social pressure through to treatment and recovery.

The designs and colours of the clothes also illustrated the changes, Ng said.
She said the collection’s first piece, a black dress with entangled layers of fabric, symbolised the endless negative thoughts in her mind.
The final item, a less restrictive, all-white piece, was a sign of her regained confidence.
Ng also found a part-time clerk job and said she would continue to pursue her passion for designing clothes.
Established in 1998, Phoenix Clubhouse in Sai Wan is a community psychiatric rehabilitation service under Queen Mary Hospital. It is the city’s first clubhouse to be accredited by Clubhouse International for providing rehabilitation services to those with mental disorders.
Francez Leung Sze-yiu, who is in charge of the centre, said it had served more than 670 people, including those with conditions such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. Patients were referred from the hospital.
Leung said those in recovery faced difficulties returning to the workplace because of the long hours and fast-paced environments, as well as a lack of self-confidence and social abilities.
She said the clubhouse, which has three occupational therapists and five support staff, collaborated with 15 organisations to offer paid job opportunities in sectors such as retail, healthcare, finance, legal services and real estate.
“Our mission is to provide hope and support to people recovering from mental illness, help them improve their quality of life and achieve their personal goals through meaningful work, genuine relationships, employment, education and social activities,” Leung said.
She said that more than 60 per cent of people who attended the centre had found jobs, adding that global research showed the clubhouse model helped extend the employment period of recovered patients by more than 60 per cent.
Dr Eileena Chui Mo-ching, a consultant in psychiatry at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, said a key feature was the collaboration with employers.
“We hope this model can continue to be promoted,” she said.
Professor Hector Tsang Wing-hong, head of the department of rehabilitation sciences at Polytechnic University, said such centres had advantages over sheltered workshops, which provide a training environment for people with disabilities.
Clubhouses typically called those receiving services “members” to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and offered them transitional job opportunities with the cooperation of employers, he explained.
He urged the government and NGOs to allocate more resources to providing social and job skills training to people in recovery to help them independently return to work.
“The objective is to enable recovered mentally ill patients to return to the open employment market and lead a normal life,” he said.


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Ng Mei-ling is one of hundreds helped by Phoenix Clubhouse in daunting return to workforce following mental health struggles


Ng Mei-ling is one of hundreds helped by Phoenix Clubhouse in daunting return to workforce following mental health struggles.


Mental health

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Hongkonger channels mental health recovery into designing fashion collection

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ng Mei-ling is one of hundreds helped by Phoenix Clubhouse in daunting return to workforce following mental health struggles

Ng Mei-ling is one of hundreds helped by Phoenix Clubhouse in daunting return to workforce following mental health struggles