Lingnan study reveals significant improvement in mental health in the young in the GBA after participating in Wellness Ambassador Programme
Wellness Ambassadors presenting their service plans, demonstrating how they use the skills they have learned to aid mental health among peers and community members.
To improve the psychological wellbeing of university students in the Greater Bay Area, the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has conducted a five-year study through a series of mental health education courses. The programme aims to enhance students' resilience, psychological knowledge, and basic counselling skills. Using questionnaires, the study seeks to find out the effect of such interventional mental health programmes on their psychological wellbeing. Results show that participants’ resilience, prosocial behaviour, and growth mindset have improved significantly, and their negative mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety have diminished.
Prof Siu Oi-ling (front row, third from right), Head of Department of Psychology, Lam Woo & Co Ltd Chair Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre at Lingnan University, and Prof Huang Yi (front row, forth from right), Associate Director of the Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre at Lingnan University, with research team members discussing their post-programme reflections with Wellness Ambassador Programme participants.
The Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has established fruitful collaborations with many institutions. Three hundred and twenty participants in the programme have become Wellness Ambassadors, who promote mental health awareness on campus and apply what they have learned in community service through peer counselling and community outreach activities, contributing to mental health development in the GBA.