Nearly one year has passed since Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) began its journey.
We started with one simple yet deeply important belief:
that everyone deserves to feel heard, understood, and not alone—especially when it comes to mental health.
Over the past year, this belief has guided us through many conversations, quiet moments, and collective reflections. We have learned about the courage it takes to speak, about wounds that often remain unseen, and about the strength that emerges when a community chooses to hold one another with care.
This first year has not been about perfection or having all the answers. It has been about presence—showing up, listening deeply, and continuing the conversation even when it feels difficult.
A Journey That Was Not Always Easy
This journey has carried many different emotions. There were days filled with energy, hope, and excitement—moments when ideas flowed easily and connections felt alive.
There were also days of exhaustion, uncertainty, and doubt—days when the weight of the work felt heavy.
Yet through it all, one thing remained clear for us:
conversations about mental health must continue to live and breathe.
Because behind every story shared, there is a human being trying to survive, adapt, and make sense of their experiences. Sometimes, being listened to—without judgment, without pressure—is already a powerful step toward healing.
To everyone who trusted us with their stories, supported our work, collaborated with us, and believed in what we are building: thank you. Your presence has shaped this journey more than you may realize.
Growing Together: One Year of Shared Growth
A Space to Grow
Over the past year, Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) has created multiple online and offline spaces for learning, sharing, and mutual support.
More than 20 online and offline sessions have been facilitated as safe and reflective spaces—where stories could be spoken, listened to, and held with care. These sessions became places not only to talk about mental health, but to experience what it means to be seen, understood, and supported within a community.
Our approach aligns with insights from community-based youth work research, which highlights that healing and growth are most effective when they happen within relational, participatory, and non-hierarchical spaces—where individuals are not treated as “cases,” but as whole human beings with lived experiences, agency, and voice. Research emphasizes that such spaces allow meaning-making, emotional safety, and trust to emerge organically through shared presence and dialogue (Journal of Community Youth Work).
Through these spaces, we learned that growth does not always happen through big breakthroughs. Often, it unfolds quietly—through honest conversations, collective reflection, and the reassurance that no one has to carry their experiences alone. Small moments of being listened to can become powerful anchors for resilience.
A Space to Collaborate
We believe that sustainable impact is born from togetherness. Throughout this journey, Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) has collaborated with more than 15 communities, partners, and individuals who share a commitment to mental well-being. Each collaboration helped extend our reach, enrich our perspectives, and strengthen a more inclusive and community-rooted mental health movement.
Community youth work literature reminds us that collaboration is not merely about scaling programs, but about sharing power, valuing local knowledge, and co-creating responses that are grounded in real contexts and lived realities. This perspective resonates deeply with TMH.id’s practice, where partnerships are built through trust, mutual learning, and respect—rather than top-down intervention.
These partnerships reminded us that mental health work is not owned by one organization or discipline. It grows stronger when knowledge, creativity, and care are shared—across communities, backgrounds, and lived experiences. When people come together as collaborators rather than service providers and recipients, collective healing becomes possible.
Meaningful Steps Along the Way
As we reflect on this first year, there are several milestones we hold with gratitude:
- January 2025
Talk Mental Health Indonesia was officially registered as Yayasan Jiwa Pulih Bahagia, marking an important step in strengthening our foundation as an organization. - February 2025
We began building our Creative Hub and foundation office in Bantul, envisioned as a shared space for growth—a place to learn, express, and heal together. - July 2025
Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) launched its first zine, using creative expression as a medium for mental health education, reflection, and accessibility. The zine became a gentle invitation to explore emotions beyond clinical language. - September – November 2025
We facilitated the Grief to Grounding Modelling Session, a series of six reflective and restorative sessions designed to help participants navigate grief, loss, and uncertainty in a supportive group setting. - December 2025
The founder of Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) participated in the Serai Residency in Shimla, India, exploring the intersection of mental health, art, and nature through reflection and experimentation—bringing new insights back into our community work.
Each of these steps may appear modest on the surface, yet each one carries deep meaning for us. They represent learning, commitment, and the courage to keep going.
With Gratitude: Thank You for Walking With Us
This journey would not have been possible without the people and communities who chose to walk alongside Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id).
We extend our deepest thanks to all partners, collaborators, facilitators, artists, mental health practitioners, community organizers, volunteers, donors, and safe-space holders who have shared their time, skills, care, and trust with us throughout this year.
Thank you to the communities and participants who showed up with honesty and vulnerability—who trusted us with their stories, emotions, and lived experiences. Your courage to speak, listen, and reflect together is the heart of everything we do.
Thank you to our collaborating communities, organizations, and creative partners who believed in collective care and helped expand mental health conversations through education, art, nature, and shared practice.
Thank you to those who offered behind-the-scenes support—administrative help, logistics, documentation, emotional labor, and encouragement—often unseen, yet deeply felt.
Every form of support, whether visible or quiet, has strengthened our steps and reminded us that mental health work is never meant to be done alone.
The Power of Support and Shared Belief
Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) has never walked alone. Behind every program, every learning space, and every conversation, there is trust—offered by communities, partners, and individuals who believe that mental health deserves collective care and attention.
Support has come in many forms: time, energy, ideas, collaboration, resources, and encouragement. Each contribution, no matter how small it may seem, has strengthened our ability to keep creating safe spaces and sustaining meaningful work.
This shared belief—that mental well-being is not an individual burden, but a collective responsibility—has been one of the most powerful forces shaping our journey.
To everyone who has stood with us: thank you for walking alongside Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id).
This is the Beginning…
This first year is not a conclusion.
It is a beginning.
A beginning of deeper listening, more inclusive spaces, and continued learning—together with the communities we serve. The road ahead will undoubtedly bring new challenges, but it will also bring new connections, stories, and possibilities.
As we move forward, we remain committed to creating spaces that are safe, inclusive, and grounded in empathy—spaces where people are allowed to pause, to speak honestly, and to feel less alone.
If you would like to continue walking with us, one gentle way to begin is through our zines.
TMH.id’s zines are free, accessible resources created as tools for reflection, expression, and mental health education. They are not meant to offer quick fixes, but to hold space—for feelings, questions, and moments that are often hard to put into words.
You are invited to read them, share them, or use them as a starting point to create your own.
Download our free zines here:
https://talkmentalhealthid.org/freebies/
Thank you for being part of this journey.
One year with Talk Mental Health Indonesia (TMH.id) and we are still walking together.
