Having suicidal thoughts, trouble sleeping, eating, focusing in class, and struggling with financial challenges as well as an unstable home life; this was the life experienced by Nelson*, 27, when he began his journey with Care Corner Counselling Centre (CCCC) five years ago. He was then an undergraduate student at a local university in the final stages of pursuing a degree in Information Technology (IT).

His parents went through a divorce when he was young and that had an adverse impact on his self-worth. Nelson would find his emotions ramping up into a state of panic and frequently felt a "paralysing amount of shame and guilt over things he could not control". Furthermore, he had to bear the weight of caregiving for his mother who was dealing with significant mental health issues.

"I held a strange belief that I had to keep in line and anything I said, did or even thought subconsciously could destabilise my mother's mental and or physical state," he said. He internalised these as he was "at fault and fixing it would be his responsibility".

Both his mother and him needed support for their mental health, but financially they were strapped. Stuck in a cycle of needing to get better to earn a living and yet not being able to afford the help needed to get better was frustrating. Fortunately, they were connected to CCCC and were offered heavily-subsidised individual and group counselling services.

An instrumental part of Nelson's healing process was his participation in the Good Enough Me (GEM) Trauma Group. This group has been born out of necessity as youths frequently feel inadequate when measured against Singapore's cultural norming of the pursuit of excellence.

Using sociodrama and psychodrama techniques, participants engage in role-playing during these group therapy sessions. These techniques help "bring about catalytic changes and healing for the group members with no blame and no shame", said Carolyn Lim, Nelson’s counsellor at CCCC.

Nelson said that these sessions have helped him with emotional regulation, confidence, interpersonal communication, setting clear boundaries with his parents, and building healthier relationships with friends and peers/colleagues at university, and during his internship. His peers in the GEM Group stated that Nelson was not only a shining example but also an "influencer" encouraging others to face their problems and utilise the new tools and skill sets developed through the counselling programme(s).

Fast forwarding to the end of Nelson's university studies, he completed his internship, graduated with honours, and now has promising job prospects. His future goals include being a developer in the IT industry. Nelson is now ready and equipped for this new phase of life and would offer the following advice to any other young person: ask for help when you need it and learn how to trust others.

* Name has been changed to protect service user's identity