Hebei therapists help medics cope in Wuhan

A team of therapists in Hebei province are providing online psychological counseling to medical staff combating the novel coronavirus on the front line in Wuhan.

The team of 23 therapists started providing counseling services on Sunday to medics sent to Wuhan from Hebei, said Li Keqing, head of the Hebei Provincial Mental Health Center based in Baoding city.

A dozen medical staff had applied for the service as of Monday, Li said.

The province has sent more than 200 medical personnel from local hospitals to Wuhan to support front-line work, previous media reports said.

"Facing the emergency task, their minds might be affected by a series of things, including a changing environment, long work hours and witnessing death," Li said, adding that timely counseling can help them deal with problems such as anxiety, depression and frustration.

He said the services are available 24 hours a day and appointments will be arranged according to schedules of the medical staff.

Yu Xuezhu, one of the therapists, conducted a session with a female nurse through WeChat on Monday morning.

"Through chatting with her, I found that she is not used to the local food in Wuhan, she couldn't go to sleep at night due to mental pressure, and she is not confident with herself doing the job," Yu said.

After an hour or so of counseling, during which Yu taught the nurse a few methods to go to sleep and how she can adjust her mindset, the nurse's tension and stress was relieved, she said.

Other places in the country have taken similar measures to ease pressure on medical staff fighting the epidemic, including Shanghai and the provinces of Shaanxi and Sichuan.