Suicide and Mental Health Crises in Malaysia:
Multi-stakeholder Perspectives on Counselling Support Challenges
Keywords:
counselling, suicide , suicide prevention, mental health, MalaysiaAbstract
Suicide has been a significant public health concern worldwide, and Malaysia faced a similar challenge regarding its prevalence following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysian mental health care and support have previously been reported as inadequate (Parameshvara Deva, 2004), and the lack of support services continues to persist. Limited access to mental health services, stigma surrounding psychological issues, and a lack of awareness have contributed to the increasing burden of suicidality (Rathod et al., 2017; Wainberg et al., 2017). The scarcity of psychosocial support and resources has raised concerns about the sustainability of community psychology. These issues motivate researchers to explore counselling and psychosocial challenges in community settings to address this problem. The research aims to explore challenges to suicide related counselling support and crisis response in Malaysia, as experienced by registered counsellors, suicide survivors and caregivers of suicide survivors. Using a case study design, the study conducted semi-structured individual interviews to gather data. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit 18 informants, including ten registered counsellors, survivors of suicide attempts, and caretakers of suicide survivors. The data analysis process revealed emerging themes, including cultural stigma and barriers, limited suicide-specific resources, constraints in delivering counselling support, demanding job tasks and caseloads, as well as the absence of coordinated crisis response initiatives. These findings highlight the need to expand counselling support services and resources within communities, as well as to refine public health policies on suicide prevention in Malaysia.
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