Dear Friend of EMCC,
As we step into another new year, I feel a great sense of gratitude.
Last year reminded me, why EMCC exists and why early, compassionate support matters. We believe that wounds don’t have to be seen before they’re healed, and throughout 2025, I saw this belief come alive in so many ways.
In 2025, we walked alongside 853 clients over 3199 counselling sessions. Many of you reached out quietly, before things reached breaking point. To lower barriers to help-seeking, we subsidised counselling for 652 clients, because we know that mental health support is often postponed, not because it’s unimportant, but because it doesn’t always feel urgent until it becomes overwhelming.
Couples attending their Group Marriage Preparation Programme session.
We also journeyed with 39 couples through our Marriage Preparation Programme, supporting them as they laid foundations for healthier, more intentional relationships. It has always been meaningful to meet couples at this stage — not in crisis, but in hope.
Seniors from SLEC taking part in the Group Processes activities led by EMCC counsellors.
We also spent meaningful time with those at another stage in their life’s seasons – 94 seniors at St Luke’s Eldercare (SLEC) centres – listening to their stories and supporting them through seasons of transition.
SLEC staff attending a Conflict Resolution workshop by EMCC.
At the same time, we trained SLEC staff, caregivers, and volunteers to better recognise and respond to emotional and mental health needs. This work is part of our President’s Challenge 2024 project, “Enhancing Active Seniors’ Emotional and Mental Wellbeing,” and we are honoured to be part of a wider effort to help seniors age with dignity, connection, and resilience.
Dr Rhoton and participants at EMCC’s “Reclaiming Wholeness: Asset-Based Healing for Dissociation” training.
To our fellow helping professionals, we saw you too. In 2025, we trained 262 clinicians and practitioners, welcoming both familiar faces and new ones. As The Gottman Institute’s official partner in Singapore, we were glad to equip 81 professionals through our Gottman Clinical Trainings, so they could better support the couples they serve.
Participants at the Trauma trainings in September 2025.
We also met around 124 of you across the three trauma trainings held in 2025, where we welcomed Dr Robert Rhoton, CEO of Arizona Trauma Institute, back to Singapore. Alongside the previously launched Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist for Individuals (CCTSI) and Advanced Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist for Individuals (ACCTS-I) trainings, we introduced a new one: Reclaiming Wholeness: Asset-Based Healing for Dissociation, continuing important conversations we began years ago.
It’s Not You campaign mascots: Tarama (Trauma), Ah Dee (Depression), and Stressia (Stress).
2025 also marked the continuation of our It’s Not You campaign. After its launch in 2024, we met many of you again in 2025 through different spaces and stories.
Scenes from the Third Man Syndrome production.
We first gathered for a fully sold-out run of Third Man Syndrome, a theatre production about friendship, grief, and healing, created in collaboration with Gateway Arts. Through theatre, we hoped to give language to silent struggles and remind one another that healing begins with being heard.
Recognising that some may need further support, we also offered complimentary counselling sessions to audience members who wished to take a next step in seeking help, and we were heartened to see so many of you do so courageously.
Panel discussion featuring practitioners, including EMCC counsellors.
After each performance, we held a panel discussion featuring practitioners from EMCC and Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), where audiences engaged openly in a safe space with questions around grief, depression, and how to better support loved ones in distress.
EMCC’s staff, guests, and donors at the fundraising event on 29 August 2025.
In conjunction with the Opening Night of Third Man Syndrome, EMCC also hosted a Fundraising Event on 29 August 2025. With the support of donors and a matching Enhanced Fundraising Grant from Tote Board, the event raised some $70,000, with proceeds going towards subsidising counselling sessions, helping to make mental health support more accessible to those who need it. We are deeply grateful to everyone who came alongside us to make this initiative possible.
EMCC gave mental wellness talks at schools including this one, at Hua Yi Secondary School.
As part of the It’s Not You campaign, we met young people in schools, where our counsellors shared openly about depression, trauma, and anxiety, creating space for honest questions and shared learning. There were conversations, laughter, games, and of course, prizes in the form of our campaign mascot plushies (they were a huge hit!).
EMCC’s series of virtual talks included this one on the “Hidden Causes of Depression and Anxiety”.
Online, we spoke with about 150 of you through digital talks on burnout, depression and anxiety, and even the psychology of scams, exploring how mental and emotional well-being intersects with everyday life.
We ended the year gathered at Under One Atap: The Mind, sitting together with mental health professionals, advocates, and artists. It was a space to listen deeply, to reflect, and to have honest conversations about what it really means to care for our minds and one another.
EMCC staff and Board Chairman, Dr Kenny Tan, at the Third Man Syndrome Fundraising Event.
Looking ahead to 2026, I’m genuinely excited to continue journeying with you into a new season. We hope to deepen our collaborations with partners and advocates, and to meet you again in creative and meaningful spaces, including returning with another powerful theatre production that gives voice to stories often left unspoken.
At the same time, we are setting a bold goal: to ensure that even more people can access mental health support, regardless of financial limitations or life circumstances. To move towards this, we are intentionally planning and investing in earlier touchpoints of care, strengthening community-based programmes, expanding peer support, and shaping pathways that encourage people to seek help before struggles escalate into crisis.
Above all, we remain committed to bringing hope and restoration to individuals, couples, and families. Thank you for believing in this work and for walking alongside us. Your trust and support make it possible for EMCC to continue showing up, listening deeply, and reminding others that they are not alone.
Sincerely,
 |
 Elaine Tan |
