Balancing Device Usage With Real-Life Responsibilities

DigitalMINDSET is a counselling intervention programme developed by TOUCH community Services since 2019.

The programme aims to support youths and their caregivers through specialised therapeutic interventions that deals with excessive device use, and emotional regulation issues.  

Get in Touch with Our Counsellors   

If you need to speak with someone, call our helpline to talk to our trained professionals. We’re here for you.  

TOUCHline
1800 377 2252

Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm (excluding public holidays) 

Who It's For

Youths aged 12 to 21 who exhibit the following: 

• Both excessive device use and emotional regulation issues
• Escapist behaviour
• Risk of resorting to device use due to poor self-management (e.g. emotional regulation issues) 
• Unusually high levels of device use (e.g. gaming, videos) preoccupation and investment that affects daily functioning (may also be reflected in abnormal levels of irritability and restlessness when not gaming)
• Poor management of emotional issues (anger, depressive symptoms) due to lack of screen time

To enquire about this programme for your child, email us at mentalhealth@touch.org.sg or call 1800 377 2252.

What You Can Expect

Clients enrolled into DigitalMINDSET can expect 1-on-1 and/or family sessions that focus on balancing device usage with real-life responsibilities (e.g., education, work), and improving interaction within the family. They will be part of meaningful conversations to gain insights to their current situation and behavioural tendencies. They will also engage in groupwork, including experiential learning, group counselling, and excursions to reinforce their goals and learning points. 

DigitalMINDSET's holistic approach also aims to:

• Cultivate consequential thinking 
• Facilitate problem-awareness 
• Motivate youths to seek a holistic balance with various aspects of life 
• Facilitate positive interaction patterns between parent and child 
• Equip emotional regulation, stress-coping and distress tolerance skills 

This programme emerged in response to the rise of digital device-related issues (mainly gaming-related) back in 2019. Over time, issues related to excessive device use have evolved to also encompass a myriad of issues such as social media usage, streaming, virtual reality, and more.   

The programme has provided support for the community with regards to making better decisions for device use, emotional support, and finding alternatives to satisfy one’s inherent motivations for device use.  

As of 2024, an element of family work has also been incorporated into DigitalMINDSET.  This was due to observations that undesirable family interactions might have contributed directly to the increase of device use and poor emotional regulation of youths.