Date: 26 Oct 2019
Event: Mental Health Carnival by IMH
Volunteering role: Facilitator in Smol Tok card game
Campus PSY offered us an opportunity to help out as a facilitator at Mental Health Carnival that was hosted by IMH. We were to facilitate a game called Smol Tok that was created by Beyond the Label. Smol Tok was created to facilitate discussions on mental health. It is basically a card game where questions related to mental health are written on cards and the group will have to discuss the question on the card chosen.
Initially, I was nervous about having to facilitate the discussion and was not sure how to go about it since I did not have any prior experience. There were two sessions in total.
Picture. Smol Tok
Before our first session started, another volunteer who had done this before showed us how to go about it as we were allowed to sit in to listen and observe her session. We were taught the rules and how to facilitate the game before we were sent to facilitate our own groups.
I was nervous when my table filled up and I had to facilitate the discussion. I was afraid that the participants would not be willing to share but luckily, they were all very interested in sharing and we managed to have a good discussion about mental health. We talked about topics such as our own perceptions of mental health, experiences with persons with mental health issues as well as the society’s perception on mental health. Some of the questions were more sensitive and not usually things people would talk about with their friends casually but the participants opened up and shared their thoughts which allowed everyone to learn. I thought that the best part about this activity is being able to learn as well as to teach. Both sessions were engaging and I was able to learn a lot. Many interesting stories were shared and I enjoyed the experience as much as the participants did.
While this volunteering experience did not bring me to interact with people with mental health issues, it was still a very meaningful experience as I was able to learn more abut the experiences, views and thoughts of people in Singapore. It was also fun being able to meet new people and share things that we might not be able to with people we already know. By listening to what others had to say, I thought that my worldview was widened.
All in all, I am glad to have been a part of this event as I learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
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