Beijing issues platform to aid residents' mental health

By Zhang Ao Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/19 22:07:47

A student receives counseling at the center for mental health in Shenyang Agricultural University in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Photo: CFP



An online platform has been launched for Beijing residents to conduct a mental health evaluation and seek psychological help. 

Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission also released its first official mental health self-assessment scale, the Beijing Daily reported. 

Science articles, audio and video materials are also available on the platform, according to the report. 

The report noted an increased incidence of depressive disorders, anxiety and insomnia. 

The Global Times reporter found that the platform features 80 questions to measure the degree of the respondents' mental health. 

The platform gives scientific guidance and helps people alleviate their psychological symptoms by self-assessment and self-learning, Ma Xin, platform design leader at the Beijing Anding Hospital, was quoted as saying by the Beijing Youth Daily. 

It also warns users to go to hospital if necessary, Ma noted.

Users hailed the platform to the Global Times on Sunday. They noted the platform could be more detailed to meet different needs. 

Zhang Kan, former president of the Chinese Psychological Society, told the Global Times on Sunday that the platform served as a new tool to obtain mental health materials in a timely and convenient manner.

The mental health of Chinese has been declining in the past 20 years, Zhang asserted. 

"Psychological services in China cannot match the rapid social transformation," Zhang said.

A report on Chinese people's mental health was released in February by the Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

It found that 11-15 percent of 14,798 respondents suffered from bad mental health and 2-3 percent were in a serious condition with psychological problems. 

Meanwhile, 74 percent of another 6,212 respondents cited a lack of convenient mental health services, said the report.

Posted in: SOCIETY,CHINA WATCH

blog comments powered by Disqus