To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Psychological Services Group (PSG), OffBeat has invited Senior Clinical Psychologist Ingrid Mak, who has been providing services for over twenty years, to tell readers the journey of PSG with the Force throughout the years.

Ingrid recalled that having joined PSG in 1998, she was soon assigned to deal with a special case. “A frontline officer who intercepted the notorious gangster Kwai Ping-hung in Mong Kok was shot and seriously injured, requiring a long period of support for physical and mental rehabilitation. The case allowed me to realise the dangers posed to police officers,” Ingrid shared.

In addition to providing psychological support to officers with duty-related stress, PSG has been expanding its services, including voluntary appointments for relieving emotional problems, to officers and their family members. PSG has even proposed the concept of “serving with heart”, which is to encourage colleagues to serve the public with empathy by performing their duties both sympathetically and reasonably. In the meantime, psychology was more widely incorporated into the curricula of the Police College and applied in criminal investigation analyses, making the services to be provided more extensive.

Ingrid further pointed out that officers had to face different stresses every day, such as getting injured at work, encountering violent criminals or having traumatic stress. The multifarious negative emotions might adversely affect their family life. “An officer from the anti-triad unit who witnessed the harms of drugs on teenagers was so strict with his son that their father-and-son relationship broke down. Fortunately, he was willing to talk to us and tried to find another way to express his care for his child,” said Ingrid.

About her 25-year service in the Force, Ingrid said that the riot in 2019 was the most unforgettable event for her. “At that time, we psychologists who went to the resting areas of frontline officers to provide psychological support had thorough sights of their tears and grievances. The heaviest stress for many officers was that they had to worry about the safety of their family members while they were maintaining law and order on the frontline.” Ingrid elaborated that PSG not only took care of the mental health of the frontline officers and their family members, but also helped reflect the actual needs of the officers in terms of gear and supplies.

At present, PSG has a total of 12 clinical psychologists providing psychological support to Force members and their family members as well as applying psychology to different aspects of policing work. Ingrid emphasises that in the last four decades, PSG has been standing with Force members and helping them build self-identity and resist adversity in the most difficult times. Officers of PSG will keep upholding their aspiration and promoting “serving with heart”.