President’s Message

Dear Members, Esteemed Colleagues & Friends,

It is with profound gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility that I was re-elected as the President of SBHS on 13 April 2024. Thank you so much for your trust, support, and unwavering commitment to our shared mission. I am excited to welcome the new members to the Executive Committee team, new and returning members who I am certain will successfully fulfil their predecessors’ shoes! Please join me in welcoming Vice-President: Dr Clive Tan, Secretary: Dr Ellie Choi, Treasurer: Dr Rayner Kay Jin Tan, and our Executive committee members: Ms Nurliyana Daros, Dr Chrystal Fong, and Mr Chua Zi Yang (https://www.sgbehaviouralhealth.com/our-team).

I look forward to serving the Society of Behavioural Health (Singapore) with the team. I also want to express our gratitude to our funding organisations for their continued support. Your contributions have been instrumental in our success, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership further in the future.

I know and have built relationships with some of you through SBHS and work, but for those I have not met, let me share my path towards becoming involved with this growing and imperative organisation.

I started my career as a nurse and went into counselling and coaching in 2000. Since then, I founded my practice in coaching and capability building in preventive health, health coaching, ageing, and healthy longevity. I sit on the advisory board for the Healthy Longevity Research Clinic. I have worked with many organisations in the healthcare, senior services and education sectors including Health Promotion Board, SingHealth, Tsao Foundation, Johnson and Johnson, Sheares Healthcare, National University of Singapore (School of Medicine) and Nanyang Technological University. I am also the developer for numerous national competency-based curricula and authored two books and numerous articles.

The past term has been an exciting journey of growth, challenges, and remarkable achievements with the team. Together, we have navigated through unprecedented times of post-covid pandemic, adapting and evolving to meet the needs of our community and the demands of our profession through regular educational events, curiosity sessions and social events including SBHS 3rd Scientific Meeting in October 2023 with very encouraging feedback. SBHS also started its Health Coaching Chapter with an esteemed Academic Board seeking to elevate the standards of health coaching in Singapore to support Healthier SG and lifestyle prescription. We proudly sign a MOU with UK International Health Coaching Association to align our educational standards and co-recognise health coaches registered with either organisation. Back home, we are honoured to have the strong support from the academia including Institute of Technical Education, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Temasek Polytechnic and health clusters including SingHealth and National Healthcare Group on our Advancing Health Coaching in Singapore initiative. Our collective resilience and dedication have sustained us and propelled us forward. These achievements are a testament to our collective efforts and the impact we have made in the field of behavioural health.

Reflecting on what we have accomplished, I am reminded of the power of collaboration. We have launched new initiatives, expanded our outreach, and strengthened our network, intending to be at the forefront of our field. I’d like to give a big shoutout to of each member of the Exco team and SBHS for your hard work and dedication.

Looking ahead, I am filled with optimism and excitement. We have laid a strong foundation, and it is time to build on it. Our goals for the coming term are ambitious but achievable, and together, we will strive to:

(1) Enhance Professional Development: We will continue to provide diverse but relevant publications, talks, workshops and training via our Curiosity Series and conferences, ensuring that you, as our members, continue to improve your knowledge and skills and advance your career through our network.

For health coaches, we will also start a mentorship programme to fostering competence and confidence in your practice.

(2) Strengthen Advocacy Efforts: Our voice must be heard at all levels. We will intensify our advocacy efforts, championing policies that support our professions and the communities we serve. The Health Coaching Chapter will continue to work together with stakeholders in the health coaching fraternity to build a pool of competent health coaches who can help people in Singapore to improve their lifestyle for healthy longevity and extension of health span. Together, we will work tirelessly to influence positive change in the diverse fields of behavioural health.

(3) Foster Innovation and Research: We will continue to provide you with solutions and opportunities through the Society’s resources that will help you pursue greatness in your work and your community as we collaborate with stakeholders to support research and practices that advance our fields. To foster a culture of inquiry and exploration, look out for SBHS Curiosity Series in Qualitative Research.

(4) Strengthen Community Engagement: SBHS exists because of the strong sense of community among our members. We will enhance our efforts to connect, engage, and support one another, creating a supportive and dynamic network. Our work at the Society is focused on enriching your experience as members, so we love to hear from you, your feedback, idea, suggestion, comment, improvement on our current offerings and how we can better serve you. We also invite you to reach out to us if there’s a related cause that you are passionate about and want to grow. Your active participation is key to our success, and we encourage you to get involved and share your ideas and feedback.

As we embark on this new term, I am reminded of the words of Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Each one of you is an essential part of this journey, and together, we can achieve great things. I’m looking forward to a fantastic 2024 and being able to work closely with all the passionate and talented people like yourself to make it all possible! The SBHS community has so much to look forward to as we strive to bring our members better offerings and benefits in line with our long-term goals to work together to plan, implement and evaluate behavioural interventions to tackle obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases via a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach. As the Executive Committee members are all volunteers, we need all the help that we can get to push things through. Please do not hesitate to contact me, our Exco team, or Secretariat. Your feedback and engagement are crucial to our success.

Please keep a lookout for our outreach emails and attend the upcoming events so that we can meet you. Thank you once again for your trust and support.  

See you around :)

Susan Tan