By Lu Yan

Since early November， China has seen COVID-19 flareups in many regions. Tongliao， a city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， has been no exception. As a psychologist， Dou Jianhua had her work cut out for her.

To assist those seeking help to effectively solve their emotional problems， Dou， also secretary general of the local psychological counselors association， gathered a group of professional peers and trained volunteer counselors to take residentscalls， many of whom are students taking online classes or employees working from home. The group also teaches daily free live-stream courses on psychotherapy， a way to help people with a broad variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties， reaching 12，000 viewers in 10 days.

“The recent COVID-19 flareup came out of nowhere， disrupting everyones daily rhythm. Many people have had to reduce contact with the outside or with other people. Invariably， their emotions have been affected—to different degrees，”Dou told the Tongliao Daily， a local newspaper.

Mixed feelings

Mental health has been a hot topic in recent years. About one in eight people worldwide， or nearly 1 billion people， live with a mental disorder. The prevalence of different mental disorders varies by gender and age. In both men and women， anxiety and depression are the most commonly found issues， according to the World Mental Health Report released by the World Health Organization（WHO） in June.

“Among its many impacts， the COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis for mental health， fueling short- and long-term stresses and undermining the mental health of millions，” the report said.

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic， prevalence rates of common conditions such as depression and anxiety went up by more than 25 percent， the UN health agency said， urging more countries to get to grips with these worsening numbers.

In China， medical expert Lu Lin and his colleagues have conducted research on mental health and COVID-19 since the outbreak of the virus roughly three years ago.

An online survey conducted among more than 50，000 people in early 2020 showed the incidence of depression， anxiety， insomnia， and acute stress symptoms in the general population during the pandemic was about 50 percent； the mental health of frontline workers， patients with chronic diseases and other special groups was seriously put to the test.

Yet many Chinese people still dont fully grasp what psychological counseling actually is. They believe only those mentally “ill” will set foot into a counseling room. “People still need more education on the topic. Plus， theres a huge need for capable professionals to help the public understand what psychotherapy is and offer them expert assistance. The government should come up with more supporting policies to nurture that type of high-caliber personnel，” Liu Xinghua added.

According to the statistics of China Association for Mental Health released in 2017， the country has about 900，000 licensed psychological consultants， but only 30，000 to 40，000 of them are engaged in full- or parttime jobs in the psychological counseling industry. Moreover， psychological consultants generally work in bigger cities.

Homeschooling

The WHOs June report showed that 14 percent of the worlds adolescents （aged 10-19）， or about one in seven teenagers， was dealing with a mental disorder in 2019.

As for how COVID-19 and the changes it has triggered， such as taking online classes， have affected teenage mental health， Su Yanjie， an executive member of the council of the Chinese Psychological Society， agreed with Liu Yanping by saying its different for different people. “In a recent chat with a middle school student， I learned he was very happy to be taking online classes. He told me studying at home gives him more time to spend on his hobbies，” Su told Beijing Review.

Social interaction does， however， play a vital part in a childs growth. Su believes although learning from home deprives students of more in-person interactions with their schoolmates and teachers， technologies and social media platforms at least provide more instant channels for them to communicate， for example by chatting online.

Parents， teachers， and social organizations should help children and teenagers deal with their emotions.“It requires the adults， especially parents who spend a lot of time with their children， to allow patience to prevail in order to offer guidance，”Su added.

Whats more， a number of psychological counseling agencies have opened 24/7 hotlines for teenagers. Teachers， too， are required to regularly inquire about their studentsmental health， communicate with them and their parents and help if necessary.

“Joint efforts and targeted solutions will hopefully ensure sound emotional development for children， even at a time like this，” Su concluded. BR