CRI听力:More People Seeking Psychological Counseling in China

The recent spate of extremely violent cases and suicides across the country has called public attention to mental health issues. More people are now resorting to psychological counseling as an outlet for their negative emotions. XYee has more.




Zhang Li, a psychological consultant at a private psychology clinic in Beijing, says people's attitudes towards psychological counseling are changing.

"When our clinic was set up, many people believed that only those with mental problems needed psychological counseling. But now more people are becoming aware of how psychological counseling can help them."

Beijing Anding Hospital, China's top-ranking psychiatric hospital, provided psychological counseling to nearly 6,800 patients in 2009, 20 percent more than in the previous year.

Li Zhanjiang, a clinical psychologist at the hospital, says the proportion of patients with mild symptoms is rising.

"More than 60 percent of our patients have mild mental disorders or psychological illnesses. With improvements in mental health treatment, they come to us for counseling when they have difficulties sleeping, feel nervous or pessimistic, or sink into a state of depression."

Many people believe psychological counseling is expensive, although it is quite affordable at public hospitals. A regular 20-minute counseling session costs 20 yuan, or 3 US. dollars. Systematic treatment by a chief psychologist costs 60 yuan for 40 minutes.

The number of appointment requests for counseling is growing at public hospitals. Private clinics have also seen an increase in the number of appointments requested, although treatment at such facilities costs several times what it does at public hospitals.

In China, more than 100,000 psychological consultants have received licenses from relevant departments.

Li Zhanjiang with Anding Hospital says every psychological consultant there has expertise in a certain area, so patients can choose one that best suits them.

"If you can't see any improvement or you feel the situation is even worse after six counseling sessions, I suggest you consider changing consultants or clinics."

Experts also suggest that if people go to private psychological clinics, they should choose large institutions with business licenses and qualified consultants.

For CRI, I'm XYee.