Changing minds on mental health

More work ahead

Wang is happy to see people's increasing awareness of mental health in recent years, but it also makes the problem of shortage of professional therapists even more prominent.

At the Shanghai Mental Health Center where Wang works, patients often have to wait between three and six months to have regular one-on-one counseling sessions with a psychotherapist every week. Although private clinics offer much faster access, consultations at such places often cost thousands of yuan per hour, making them unaffordable for most locals.

As such, the Shanghai Mental Health Center has been making plans to develop an online platform that would allow more people to receive treatment. When Wang was helping combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, his team gained experience in the provision of phone or video counseling to local residents.

Wang's workload is also poised to get heavier as the national health commission announced in July that it set one of the national medical centers of mental disorders at Shanghai Mental Health Center to work with the other two branches in Beijing and Hunan province to lead the development of mental healthcare in the country.

Wang, who described the move as "good news", says the center in Shanghai will be responsible for several important tasks such as developing advanced medical techniques and solving the most difficult mental diseases.

Such initiatives, he adds, would allow China's mental healthcare sector to be of a global level within a decade.

Wang is also keenly involved in efforts to cultivate more mental health talents to address the severe shortage of such professionals in the country.

China currently has more than 50,000 registered psychiatrists, about 1.5 times more than the figure from 10 years ago, but this is still insufficient for a country of its size.

"There is still a lack of awareness and knowledge among the public, and many people are still not seeking professional help because of existing stigmas related to mental issues. I'm also worried that we are short of medical resources," Wang says.

According to epidemic investigations, 16.6 percent of adults in China have had mental issues at least once in their lifetime, and more than 80 percent of people suffering from depression and anxiety have not received proper treatment.

"I hope my job can help prevent more suffering. If we can raise the proportion of people seeking professional treatment from 20 to 50 percent, that would be great," he says.