Singapore to increase family counselling capacity as number of cases grows

SINGAPORE: Counselling services under the strengthening families programme (FAM) will be expanded to support up to 12,000 cases by 2030, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said in parliament on Thursday (Mar 5).

The number of family counselling cases has risen over the past few years – from 3,100 in 2022 to 5,700 last year.

“We expect this growth to continue and will ensure services remain accessible to those who need it,” the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said.

The strengthening families programme was established in 2021 to support families who may face greater challenges in managing marriage, parenting and other family relationships.

Eleven FAM centres across Singapore provide family counselling to support such families. This includes providing psycho-emotional support and equipping families with skills and resilience to deal with stressors and resolve conflicts.

Families can book face-to-face or online counselling sessions with the centres.

“Preliminary findings have shown that family counselling has improved mental well-being, marital adjustment and child psychosocial functioning of (the programme’s) clients,” MSF said.

Since July 2024, all couples with minor children must go through the coparenting programme run by FAM centres before they file for divorce, Mr Masagos said, adding that this would hopefully prevent disagreements later over child access.

Speaking during the debate on his ministry’s spending plans for the coming year, Mr Masagos said that as MSF works to ramp up capacity, it will continue to make family counselling more accessible and provide self-help resources online to better support families.