Blog post
Nureen's Voice: Transforming Lives and Breaking Taboos in Yala
“I used to enjoy high school,” says Nureen Lohma, a 22-year-old from Thailand’s southern border province of Yala, “But when my family problems began, I withdrew into myself and felt less bright.” Nureen knows first-hand about the challenges many young people in her community face. As her family problems increased,...
Blog post
One Young Man’s Journey Towards Becoming a Health Champion in His Community
In rural Pattani Province on Thailand’s southern border, 23-year-old Muhammad Fitree Mamah - known by friends as Fitree - leads a quiet life in a small village. He supports his family’s agricultural work by tending vegetables and tapping rubber trees, while spending his weekends teaching children basic religious a...
Blog post
Beating the bullies and building confidence – how one adolescent found mental health support online
"I sometimes feel like I'm worthless. I don't understand why I was born,” says Aon, a 15-year-old Thai boy. Aon has suffered from extreme stress for much of his young life, beginning with a disability that affects his ability to walk and causes fatigue, exacerbated by a difficult family situation that led to his m...
Report
Action Plan to Develop Integrated Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents (2023-2027)
The Action Plan to Develop Integrated Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents (2023-2027) is aligned with the 20-Year National Strategy and all action plans concerning children and adolescents. It encourages all sectors to participate in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mental health servi...
Report
The benefits of investing in school-based mental health support
This policy brief provides an overview of the findings from a national cost-benefit analysis on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions among children and adolescents aged five years and above in education settings in Thailand. These focused interventions aim to promote the mental health and w...
Blog post
Working with teachers towards positive classrooms for all
Health and well-being are more than just a matter of physical health. Good mental health is to the foundation of a person's overall well-being, yet it is often overlooked. This is certainly true in Thailand, where this issue is a growing concern, particularly among children and adolescents. According to an analysi...
Article
Meet your mind, find your safe zone
When’s the last time you felt safe to reflect on how you’re really feeling? Do you have a refuge for these feelings in your mind, in your home or among your friends? For too many children and young people in Thailand, surrounded and silenced by mental health stigma, there’s no such safe space. That’s why UNICEF is...
Press release
UNICEF encourages youth to ‘Meet Your Mind, Find Your Safe Zone’ for mental well-being
Bangkok, 16 November 2022, – UNICEF launches its Every Day is Mind Day campaign. The slogan for this year’s important campaign is ‘Meet Your Mind, Find Your Safe Zone’ to help children and young people in Thailand discover a safe space of their own, where they can cope with mental health challenges in a healthy wa...
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Every Day is Mind Day stickers
Download free stickers of safe zones for social media and share with others what your safe zone looks like., A cartoon of a female student with glasses reading a book on a sofa. A cartoon depicting a boy riding a skateboard. A cartoon depicting a man relaxing in a garden. A set of beverages is placed near him on a small, round table. A girl in a cartoon enjoys eating hotpot. A cartoon depicting a woman sleeping on a bed while wrapped in a blanket...
Blog post
Poor youth mental health is costing Thailand
I know children and adolescents to be incredibly resilient, as a mother of three and in my work with UNICEF. But their mental health has seriously suffered from the grief, uncertainty, isolation and stress over the past years of COVID-19 and well before that. As recent tragic cases of youth suicide in Thailand sho...
Press release
Alarming poor mental health trend among children and adolescents in Thailand requires urgent investment in services
BANGKOK, 31 August 2022 –, Thailand must urgently increase investment in quality and timely mental health care and services for children and adolescents in order to prevent serious lifelong damage to their health, development and future, according to a new UNICEF-led study on adolescent mental health released yest...
Report
Strengthening mental and psychosocial support systems and services
The report will provide you with the synthesized data to describe the mental health needs of children and adolescents in Thailand and will explain the current mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) systems and services in health, education, welfare, and justice settings including identifying opportunities ...