Friday 11 December 2020

Child Psychiatry's 50th anniversary

[In Singapore. Children have been having psychiatric problems since time immemorial. It was just that nobody cared!]

This year, 2020, is the 50th year of the Child Guidance Clinic, in Singapore.

It started in 1970 with the first formal and separate set up of a Child Guidance Clinic. 

Though from the newspaper reports, it seemed like it had been in the plans for some time.

As early as September 1954, there was talk of a Child Guidance Clinic to be opened "late next year" (i.e. 1955). This was sort of a follow-up story to the news from a year before (1953) on the same topic.

But Singapore had more important things to worry about then (the 1950s), like getting self-government from the British, and presumably the Brits were occupied with either trying to help Singapore be self-governing (or prevent it?).

Also, communists insurgents.

So in 1966, there was still talk about how Singapore could really use a Child Guidance Clinic. Because one had not been set up.

Thursday 3 December 2020

Singapore - The accidental country

 I found this video covering the events of Singapore's independence, from a foreign history (or geography) "student".

He speaks a little fast, but he gets his points across. And not being Singaporean, his understanding (or interest) in the specifics was not too "cheem". And he was more concerned with borders, than with history.