Note: This article on Pay It Forward therapy sessions in Malaysia will be updated periodically.
You may have heard of “Pay It Forward” schemes where you pay for someone else’s needs in advance. Then a person in need can come forward, ask if the need is available, and utilise it. This can come in many forms, such as essential groceries or food.
It’s an act of kindness that you wish to give to others in hopes of at least bettering another person’s day. While food and essentials is common in most Pay It Forward schemes, did you know that you can do the same for therapy sessions?
As someone who benefited greatly from therapy sessions (ranging from free to costly), I know how important it is to have someone to talk to and guide you through life. There’s this big misconception that we should have the answers within us, we just need to find it by ourselves. But that’s not how it works at all.
You need someone to show you how to find the answers; to see what options and routes you can safely take, and not all of us were taught better mental health practices and critical thinking to come up with the best answers anyways.
This is why I believe therapy is so important, be it just through guided conversations or through clinical methods. Because no one should try to navigate challenges on their own, and with the right guidance a person can grow and develop to be better people in the future.
There are plenty of great guides out there to help you look for affordable therapy here in Malaysia, as well as costs to look out for. This particular article is for those who would like to support people in need of therapy sessions, or maybe you yourself are in need of such services.
Pay It Forward therapy sessions
There are two ways to go about supporting this cause though: you actually pay for a therapy session (or two), or you can donate to an organisation that’s already offering affordable therapy sessions but needs monetary support to keep going.
So let’s start with the actual Pay It Forward therapy sessions.
Talking Buddy Services
Talking Buddy Services caught my attention on Instagram and is the reason I’m writing this. They have a Pay It Forward program that’s especially targeted towards saving more teenagers through their Save The Teens program.
These sessions under the Save The Teens program are dedicated to 13-17 year old and for RM20 a teenager will get a 2 hours of therapy session for free. As such, they’re looking for donations of at least RM20 to help them serve more of those in need.
Based on their latest post on 9 January 2021, they currently have 384 teens on the waiting list and that’s only on the first batch! There’s also a second batch waiting list, with the numbers still rising.
If you would like to help them, you can donate here:
Even if you’re outside of that age range, The Talk Buddy still offers support for all through their call and chat package. These come with 1 hour/3 or 4 hour/1 month (unlimited within the month) sessions and are priced accordingly:
NOTE: They’re not a clinical therapist, rather they function mostly like the Befrienders, in which they provide a listening ear and positive care to get you back on your feet. If they do discover you need clinical care for your mental health, they will redirect you accordingly.
The Mind Faculty
You likely would have seen The Mind Faculty (TMF) ads for their services on billboards. As such, they have a well known and strong reputation for helping those in need of mental health treatments in the Klang Valley. Their services range from psychiatric, psychological, counselling and complementary therapies. They even have a corporate program to help provide support and solutions for mental health in the workplace!
As such, the therapy sessions offered by TMF comes with a stronger clinical background to really help those with serious mental issues.
Checking their Instagram, you’ll discover they have a Pay It Forward therapy session program. Their sessions cost RM80 each, so if you really want to pay it forward through TMF, that’s the minimum.
For more information on how you can donate, I highly recommend contacting them, or send them a DM.
NOTE: The Pay It Forward session can only be for a person’s FIRST session, and only for that session. The following session’s costs will have to be borne by the person taking therapy.
They do have a special fund for those in need, called the TMF fund, which you can also support. But if you want to utilise those funds, you will need to talk to them instead.
Organisations To Support
Not all organisations offer pay it forward schemes but they do a lot to help those suffering with mental health. This even includes free or low cost therapy/talk sessions. I’ve attended these and it helped a lot, so I highly recommend going to them for affordable therapy. Which is why even though it isn’t “Pay It Forward” per se, I still recommend donating to them if possible.
Befrienders
Befrienders is well known for being completely free and has helped people even myself. They are in need of donations to keep running the organisation; mainly to cover expenses such as telephone charges, advertising, electricity, water, and so on.
For more information on how you can contribute, click here. Fun fact, they even accept donations through the Touch n Go eWallet!
Malaysia Mental Health Association (MMHA)
I went to MMHA myself and found them to be really helpful. I was even lucky enough to get some sessions free (as the counselor I was with was a Psychology student). According to their website, they need funds to help them “maintain our rehabilitation, advocacy and public education activities”.
For more information on how you can contribute, click here.
Mental Illness Awareness And Support Association (MIASA)
MIASA is also another great organisation to look out for to support. You can see on their website how the funds they receive will be used. One of which is that it will also be used to “Help patients for their medical expenses and cost of transportation for them to go for therapy”. Based on what they have shared, they’re true to their word so it’s still worth donating to them as well.
For more information on how you can contribute, click here.
Please support if you can
I understand that times are tough during this pandemic, and you would want to focus on taking care of yourself first before others. That’s fine! You should take care of yourself first before others, for you cannot save others without saving yourself.
But even if it’s just RM20 a month or less, I would still implore you to support those in need. There has been serious flooding happening within Malaysia, which you can support as well. And as we continue our battle against COVID-19, you can even support our Ministry of Health through your contributions as well.
More than anything, I am aware the pandemic has taken a serious toll on many people’s mental health. So if you would like to support improving the mental state of Malaysia through monetary ways, I hope the list above helps in some way.
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