To build a community where individuals, families and organisations are empowered with mental health awareness and resilience; filled with compassion for vulnerable people experiencing mental health and addiction concerns; and equipped with knowledge and skills to live meaningfully and authentically, through counselling, therapy, education and training.

Our Vision

Our Mission

Equip The Mind (EQM) was set up to help people and communities:

  1. Develop deeper awareness and understanding of mental health concerns and addiction issues.

  2. Eliminate stigma and shame associated with mental health and addiction recovery.

  3. Build skills and strategies to improve mental health resilience and addiction recovery.

  4. Promote safe and supportive communities for people in recovery.

  5. Learn skills to recognise suicide warning signs and support people at risks of suicide (suicide prevention).

EQM offers individuals, couples, families and organisations the opportunity to develop their mental health awareness, resilience and recovery through education, training, therapy and support groups.

Our Care Values

Our core values are known as ‘Care Values’ as they define who we are and how we act and engage with people.

  1. Compassion: This is the foundation of our core values. We seek to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and extend compassion and empathy to everyone regardless of their backgrounds.

  2. Connection: Authentic connection is the fuel for healing. We believe that “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” We strive to build authentic and emphatic therapeutic relationships with our clients.

  3. Collaboration: Partnership is a critical component for both growth and development. We seek to learn and work alongside like-minded organisations who have a passion of supporting the vulnerable and people struggling with mental health concerns and addiction challenges.

Our Story

Equip The Mind (EQM) was set up by Ben Ong based on the belief that every individual has the capacity to develop their sense-of-self, cultivate their mental health resilience and change their mindsets and behaviours in order to live authentically and meaningfully. Ben brings invaluable insights from his personal lived experience and healing journey through the lens of one being impacted by problem gambling harm in his family of origin. In addition, the knowledge and experience from his work in mental health services, psychiatric hospitals, homeless services, family and carers services and addiction recovery services during his time in Sydney provide a deep understanding of what resilience and recovery looks like. His individual healing journey, experience and values have paved the path and laid the foundations for EQM.

About the Founder: Ben Ong

Ben is a Singaporean who is blessed with an amazing wife and a beautiful teenage daughter. He graduated with an engineering degree in 2002 and started his career in Singapore as an engineer in the aerospace sector in multi-national corporations over 15 years before taking a leap of faith to pursue what he describes as a “path aligned with his core values”.

In 2017, Ben and his family relocated to Sydney where he studied and practiced counselling and social work.  Ben is passionate about supporting people and families who are socio-economically disadvantaged as well as people who are struggling with mental health concerns and problem behaviours related to trauma and addiction.

Ben is trained in individual counselling, relationship counselling, family counselling and social work. His qualifications include Master of Social Work (MSW), Graduate Diploma of Counselling, Advanced Diploma of Family Therapy, and Diploma of Christian Counselling. Ben also has a Master of International Business and a Bachelor Degree of Mechanical Engineering.

Since 2018, Ben has worked across a wide range of clinical settings and social services in Sydney including: Mental health counselling; psychosocial disability support; alcohol, substance misuse and gambling addiction counselling; homelessness services case management; counselling people in custody and transitioning back into the community; inpatient individual and group therapy in psychiatric hospitals; leading a multi-disciplinary allied health clinical team in a psychiatric hospital; and providing social work support for people with mental health concerns.

Ben is an advocate of group-based programs and an experienced group therapist and facilitator. He is a qualified SMART Recovery facilitator and have facilitated therapeutic and psychoeducation group programs in psychiatric hospitals, addiction recovery support groups, anxiety support groups and mental health workshops for families and carers since 2018.