Health on Our Minds
May marks Mental Health Awareness Month in May. We spoke to Hasanal Lythgoezafrullah, founder of Mindish, Hong Kong’s new mental health clinic, and Dr Kimberley Carder, a clinical psychologist at Mindnlife, about the benefits of a preventative therapy model
How are you, really?
If you’re not feeling your best right now, you’re not alone. In January, Hong Kong imposed the harshest social distancing rules that the city’s ever seen to battle the surge of Omicron cases. As the city strove to achieve zero-covid through strict isolation, flight bans and beach closures, residents’ mental health declined— and rapidly, too.
At the peak of Hong Kong’s mental health crisis, Hasanal Lythgoe-zafrullah unveiled Mindish, a members-only clinic. With stylish decor and plenty of greenery and sunlight, it resembles a chic members’ club like Soho House or Rosewood’s Carlyle & Co.
Inside, you’ll find a sitting area with custom-made furniture, a small library section with a variety of self-help and inspirational books, several therapy rooms and two spacious meditation rooms.
“We’re not a yoga studio; we’re not a meditation studio. We’re also not a mental health clinic in the traditional sense,” Lythgoezafrullah tells me during our video call.
The founder, who was born in Hong Kong to Sri Lankan parents, began his own healing journey just a few years ago. During his own search for the right therapist, he realised how difficult it was to find someone he could
click with. It was then that the idea for Mindish was born, as he vowed to find a simpler way to help people heal. Rather than seeing therapy as an emergency service, Mindish aims to help people take regular care of their mental health.
Providing a personalised, holistic approach to this area of healthcare, the clinic helps members improve all aspects of their life: mental, physical and social. Members are assigned to a personal growth manager (PGM), who will learn about their goals and needs. Afterwards, the PGM will come up with a detailed healing plan, including sessions with the appropriate therapists—including clinical psychologists, sex therapists, career coaches and nutritionists—suggest meditation classes and provide regular check-ins with the client to ensure they’re headed in the right direction.
Dr Kimberley Carder, a clinical psychologist at Mindnlife, feels optimistic about how businesses like this could change the narrative in Hong Kong. “People feel that there has to be something really wrong with them before they go to therapy. This is something I actually quite like about the Mindish approach. They’re much more prevention before cure, and creating a preventative model of mental health.
“We see it changing in the west, where for a long time, you were expected to suck it up and get on with it until your 40s and then you have your nervous breakdown. But why do we have to wait until then to take care of our mental health? There’s an expectation of what the human experience is and what society and capitalism expect of you. I think that is evolving, so I love that there is a young wave of people talking about mental health.”
Even before the pandemic, research undertaken by Mind HK in 2019 found that 61 per cent of adults were suffering from poor mental wellbeing. During Covid-19 times, it’s getting even worse. According to an International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study published in May 2020, 25.4 per cent of Hong Kong respondents found their mental health deteriorated in just the first three months of Covid-19. In 2022, the UN health agency found the greatest deterioration in mental health in places where social interaction was restricted and infections were high.
Surprisingly, during the fifth wave, Carder saw a huge drop in clients—and not because everyone is thriving. “Up until the fifth wave, I was very, very busy. And then came the fifth wave and I had a huge drop-off. I’m at 50 per cent capacity right now,” she says.
People know that their mental health is suffering for reasons beyond their control, she adds. “When we think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the foundation is [physiological needs]—home, security and shelter,” says Carder. “How can anyone feel safe in Hong Kong right now, when everyone’s heartstrings are yo-yoing to [news] notifications?”
But one of the goals of therapy can be to change how we deal with circumstances beyond our control, so there are certainly still benefits to seeking counselling now. “It’s a painful situation. And we’re all trying to get through this the best way we can. I’m biased but I think everyone benefits from therapy [in the way it provides] a safe space,” Carder says.
Echoing Carder’s sentiment, Lythgoezafrullah decided to introduce packages at Mindish—to help clients feel they have a consistent safe space to return to. Instead of paying for one-off appointments, Mindish encourages clients to commit to a 12-session package, which also let them use the lounge and attend free meditation and talks. “Research suggests that on average, it takes between 10 to 12 sessions for clients to see [measurable] progress. That’s why we have that commitment,” says Lythgoe-zafrullah. “Therapy is not a quick fix. It is a process.”
“When we look at the models of therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy, you need six to eight weeks minimum in order to build up a rapport with a therapist,” says Carder “We’re looking to detach you from certain thought processes and consider different ways of thinking, so you need to be dedicated to the process.”