Sandy Sinn M.Ed

07/11/2025

07/11/2025

There are moments in life when the threads of personal experience, community, and hope come together in unexpected ways. My coffee chat with Carmen Li, founder of Optism, was one such moment, a conversation that echoed the stories of countless families quietly navigating life with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Hong Kong and beyond.

For my family, these threads have run deep and at times unbearably raw. My late brother lived through a time when autism was misunderstood, missed until age ten, his childhood marked by confusion and my mother’s tireless search for answers and support that rarely came. Years later, my late sister stepped into similar shoes, raising her two children alone, one with ASD. The daily struggle and isolation broke her spirit, leaving my niece, bright and unique, carrying both challenge and hope forward.

ASD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that changes how individuals communicate, interact, and perceive the world. With the right support, especially early intervention, children with ASD can flourish, revealing strengths that might otherwise remain hidden. Sometimes those strengths shine for the world to see, as with Hong Kong’s Woody Chan, who earned not one but two gold medals at the Special Olympics as a figure skater. His achievements are a beacon for all who believe inclusion makes true excellence possible.

Carmen’s inbox is a testament to the ongoing need, parents and families reaching out each day, hoping for guidance and community. Through Optism, Carmen responds with compassion and practical support, connecting more than 3,500 ASD families to resources, understanding, and hope they may have never found alone.

This moment is not just about Carmen or Optism. It’s about every parent, sibling, or loved one striving for answers, and every organization deciding what inclusion truly means. Support starts at the heart: companies and leaders, join in to help amplify platforms like Optism, invest in neurodiversity, and build a future where every child can thrive.

Let’s move beyond awareness into action, so no family is left behind and every child’s potential is celebrated.

05/11/2025

From Personal Loss to Campus Change: Why Every School Needs a Network of Safety

It felt like it wasn't long ago that I lost family members and close friends to su***de. As a mother, an international school guidance counselor, a positive psychologist and a mentor to young people, I have stood with parents on playground curbs and in living rooms, listening to fears, grief, and the silent struggles that don’t always show up during school hours. Each conversation, each life touched or lost, etched deeper the conviction: youth su***de is not just a statistic, it’s a call to action.

That call led me to found Choose Hope under the Center for Positive Psychology & Wellbeing (CPPWB). Our focus and passion are clear: help schools become su***de-safer by providing the roadmap, tools, and training to empower their whole community.

Our Networks of Safety approach means every adult: classroom teachers, coaches, staff, counselors, and leaders, is trained to notice distress, reach out, and connect students to help before a crisis happens.

Can your school truly say it’s safe if staff aren’t equipped to notice and help those struggling?

Too often, I hear schools say, “We’re a healthy school,” or parents insist, “My child is fine.”

But su***de doesn’t discriminate. No community, however caring, is immune.

Breaking the stigma and taboo around su***de, raising real awareness is as vital as prevention training.

Backed by evidence-based, WHO-endorsed workshops, LivingWorks
safeTALK and ASIST, and as Asia’s first Training for Trainers (T4T) provider, we partner with schools to build a powerful Network of Safety.

Already, international schools in Vietnam and Hong Kong are bringing this concept to life in 2025 and 2026 with CPPWB’s support.

With students increasingly seeking comfort and answers from AI, it is the caring, trained adults who make the difference. Every educator, leader, and parent shares not just the “duty of care”, but a real power to change the story for students in need.

To school leaders: Now is the time to act. Watch for our 2026 schedule of school visits, workshops, and T4T opportunities.

Or reach out today to learn how CPPWB can help your school lead the way in student safety and wellbeing.

Let’s work together because the next life you save could be closer than you think.

***dePrevention

05/11/2025

What makes a coach or PE teacher more than an instructor?

It’s their unique gift to build , , and : one huddle, one lap, one high-five at a time.

PE educators and coaches become , , and ; they notice what others might miss and foster the kind of connection that lets a young person know: “You matter here, on this team, and in this world.”

In every practice and game, you nurture and . You see and often far beyond what happens on the scoreboard.

Research shows students are drawn to coaches because of your , , and sense for who’s “off their game.”

Students don’t always knock on the counselor’s door; instead, they seek assurance and understanding from the adults who’ve cheered them on and believed in their best selves.

A podcast story captures this truth: a boy lost his mother to su***de at 15, school became a sea of awkward silences. Teachers didn’t know what to say, how to help, and he didn’t know how to ask.

But his PE coach saw him. At the end of class, no fanfare, no words,

just a bear hug.

The simple act of presence, with no judgment or questions, became a turning point. Decades later, that boy, now a man, pays forward the he received in that moment. He spoke how this one PE coach has changed his life.

This isn’t unusual. Coaches and PE educators frequently become the unsung heroes for students facing silent battles.

Yet even the most caring educators can hesitate:

Is it my role?

What if I say the wrong thing?

In truth, your gift for human connection is often exactly what young people need, sometimes more than perfect words or clinical skills.

At the PHASE conference, our founder, Sandy Sinn Su***de Prevention Educator will invite you to honor the gifts 🎁 you have, and take the next step, to remind young people: “Whatever you’re going through, you are not alone, and someone will always see you.”

Will you step into this wider circle, continuing to be a champion and unsung hero for youth?

Will you help us build a that protects and uplifts every student?

The future depends on our , our , and our belief in the power of sport to , , and .

Looking forward to seeing the PHASE community next week.

Let’s “Choose Hope” together.



Vietnam Institute of Psychology Sandy Sinn Tabitha Kim Luong Võ Diệu Thanh Chiang Rai International School Nguyễn Nguyên Mark Shields Albert Tiong Mental Health & Well-Being with Sandy Sinn

03/11/2025

Recently, I came across a deeply honest post by the CEO of a large corporation, a post written days after losing an employee to su***de.

The CEO wrestled with tough questions, standing before his team at sunrise, wondering,

“Am I doing the right thing?
What are we missing?
What could we have done differently?”

He admitted he didn’t have the answers. He spoke from a place of personal pain, sharing how he too had once felt hopeless, not knowing then how much he would have missed like his son’s achievements, his daughter’s milestones, quiet mornings with colleagues. He acknowledged,

“All I know to tell you is that tomorrow is another day, and yet another chance for things to be better.”

A few days later, the CEO received a call from someone desperate for help, a family member in crisis with nowhere to turn. He listened, connected them with community resources, and realized: while he couldn’t save his employee, he could still help another family keep hope alive.

As the founder of Choose Hope, a CPPWB initiative, I recognize versions of this story all too well. I spend countless hours speaking at conferences, to HR departments, and in C-suites, tirelessly urging leaders to make mental health and su***de prevention a visible, ongoing priority. Yet too often, real action comes only after loss.

So, as leaders, why do we wait?

Why do we only start asking the hardest questions after tragedy?

What if we broke that cycle, and began asking now:

👉Am I building a culture where people truly feel safe to speak up before they reach the edge?
👉When someone is suffering, do they know we genuinely care, not just with words, but with action and resources?
👉Are we training managers and staff to recognize warning signs and respond with skill and compassion?
👉Are we actively challenging the stigma that keeps so many silent?
👉What kind of legacy do we want to create, for our organizations, our people, our society?

Leadership means getting uncomfortable enough to face these questions before the worst happens.

The purpose is not to find blame, but to build , , and into the fabric of our workplaces.

Let this CEO’s vulnerability, and every tragic loss, be our urgent call to act: not after, but before.

Because su***de prevention is not a response to tragedy, it’s leadership in action, every single day.

***dePrevention

Vietnam Institute of Psychology Tabitha Kim Luong Võ Diệu Thanh Sandy Sinn M.Ed

27/10/2025

Thank you Nguyễn Nguyên for your beautiful reflective post. Truly it was my honored to be part of the making of a su***de-safer Vietnam 🇻🇳.

Thank you for coming all the way from Danang to attend the workshop.

I look forward to visiting you and your team in December in Danang❤️

19/10/2025

What if safeguarding in schools meant more than protecting: it meant empowering?

Next month at the PHASE conference in Singapore, I’ll be sharing a vision that sits at the heart of what we do at Choose Hope, an initiative under the Center For Positive Psychology & Wellbeing by Sandy Sinn: building a ‘Network of Safety’ across every school community.

Too often, su***de prevention is left to a few specialists or counselors.

But what if every teacher, coach, and staff member had the confidence and skills to notice when a student is struggling and knew how to offer help that could save a life?

That’s what a su***de-safer campus looks like: an empowered community where caring, connection, and competence flow through every corner of a school.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reminds us that mental health and wellbeing are not just medical issues—they are community health priorities, and schools are among the most powerful settings for prevention and growth.

When we equip entire school communities with su***de first aid skills, we redefine safeguarding from a reactive response to a proactive culture of care.

At PHASE in Singapore, I’ll be introducing this whole-school approach—one that strengthens safety through shared responsibility and collective compassion. Because safeguarding isn’t just about preventing tragedy; it’s about building hope, together.

https://phase.community/presentations/building-network-of-safety-a-safeguarding-approach-to-su***de-prevention/

***dePrevention

Sandy Sinn Tabitha Kim Luong Võ Diệu Thanh Chiang Rai International School Raffles Medical Clinic in Vietnam Blue Dragon Children's Foundation Sandy Sinn M.Ed Nathan Gehlert

19/10/2025

Tomorrow is Vietnamese Women’s Day. All across Vietnam, the streets will bloom with flowers, workplaces will fill with laughter and gratitude, and families will gather to honor the women whose hands and hearts shape our lives. There is a special energy in the air, a recognition, written in cards and echoed in smiles, that Vietnamese women are the foundation of our communities.

As I prepare to speak to a room full of women leaders in Saigon on “Empathetic Leadership”, I am reminded why empathy feels so deeply personal to me.

As a mother nurturing a daughter, as an entrepreneur learning from setbacks, as a mentor celebrating the growth of young Vietnamese women, empathy has always been my anchor and guide. It is what helps us lift one another through uncertainty and celebrate the achievements; large and small, that mark our collective journey.

We will honor famous trailblazers tomorrow: women like Mai Thi Nguyen, whose work in rural health has saved generations, and Dang Thi Thu Thao, who stood up for women’s rights in the Mekong Delta.

But I’m just as moved by the nurses who heal quietly, the teachers who encourage hope, the daughters daring to dream, and the mothers finding strength in daily challenges. These are the stories of empathy and leadership that shape Vietnam from the inside out.

Empathy is not just a quality to aspire to; it’s a daily practice. When women lead with empathy, they transform teams, families, and communities beyond what any position or title can promise.

🌟So as we celebrate together, my hope is that every woman remembers: your empathy is not just your gift, but your legacy.

🗣️How will we encourage each other to lead, not just with expertise, but with courage and kindness?

👉What can we teach the next generation of women about the power of standing together; championing every success and holding each other through every struggle?

❤️This Vietnamese Women’s Day, let flowers and laughter fill the air. But let us also fill our hearts with gratitude for every woman whose presence makes us stronger.

💪Together, we honor not just one day, but a future shaped by empathy, strength, and community.



Tabitha Kim Luong Võ Diệu Thanh Sandy Sinn

14/10/2025

Jane Goodall once said, “The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”

Apathy isn’t simply indifference, it’s what happens when we quietly assume someone else will step in.

In this context, that only professionals can save lives, or that our own actions don’t matter enough.

But imagine what a young person sees when they look around and feel that silence, that hesitation, that moment adults pass responsibility to “the experts.”

What message does our waiting send?

As a parent, educator, advocate for young voices, and su***de prevention trainer, my mission is clear: real safety is built every day, not through perfect words or quick technological comfort, but through the courage and compassion of human connection.

Our young people don’t need more reminders that help is “out there.”

They need to witness us: adults, parents, and educators really learning, stepping forward, and showing up.

They need us to listen beyond the surface, hear their pain, and let them feel through our presence:

“I see you. I care. I am here.”

The mental health crisis facing our youth is urgent. Distress and su***de rates are rising globally.

Every day delayed, every adult who hesitates, is a lost chance to save and transform lives.

If not you, who? If not now, when?

Learning life-saving skills isn’t just another initiative, it’s an act of love, a duty of care, and a promise that we won’t wait for tragedy before we move.

LivingWorks ASIST is a life saving skill training to equip every person to listen, support, and intervene; to break the silence with real empathy, so no young person ever feels invisible in their own community.

Let’s stop hoping someone else will take action. Love and responsibility call us to act today, not tomorrow.

Step forward for our youth, for your students, for your children, for the future we all share.

Register now, not later, not next time: www.sandysinn.com

***dePrevention

Sandy Sinn Tabitha Kim Luong Võ Diệu Thanh Vietnam Institute of Psychology Chiang Rai International School Raffles Medical Clinic in Vietnam

I'm Sandy Sinn, an ASIST Master Trainer and advocate for mental health and well-being, specialising in su***de prevention and resilience training. My mission is to empower individuals and communities through comprehensive education and intervention strategies, fostering a deeper understanding of men