Adequacy in Numbers of Professional Counsellors to Cater to Increased Attention on Mental Health Issues

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1806 
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 20 MARCH 2023 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Seah Kian Peng
MP for Marine Parade GRC

Question No. 4353

To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the increased attention on mental health issues and the need for counsellors (a) whether Singapore is prepared in terms of the number of professional counsellors; and (b) how does this number compare against the benchmark for best practices in other advanced economies.

Answer

1 Based on publicly available data from the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC), the number of counsellors registered with SAC increased from 940 in 2020 to 1240 in 2022. Besides professional counsellors, other healthcare professionals and social workers provide counselling as part of their work. There is no international benchmark on the ratio of counsellors to population.

2 The tiered care model for mental healthcare delivery currently being developed by the Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being will serve as the basis for agencies to plan and develop counseling services and manpower across different sectors. More details will be released in due course.