Operation of 24-Hour Counseling Hotline and Activation of In-Depth Counseling Linkage with Mental Health Physicians
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that it will strengthen psychological support projects to help citizens suffering from excessive anxiety and stress due to not only psychological fatigue caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic but also economic and physical constraints, aiming for psychological stability and return to daily life.
Since February last year, the COVID-19 Psychological Support Team and district-level psychological support groups, which were previously composed of 6 teams with 66 members, will be expanded to 11 teams with 109 members, providing tailored psychological support services for confirmed patients, quarantined individuals, COVID-19 disaster response personnel, and the general public.
Among the target groups, those who require in-depth counseling by experts through psychological consultations will be connected free of charge to mental health primary care physicians who are psychiatric specialists. Non-face-to-face counseling channels such as online, mobile, and video consultations will be expanded to prevent mental health problems among citizens in advance.
In addition, to discover and intervene early in vulnerable groups to mental health issues such as COVID depression, the city will promote outreach psychological support services including activation of the Open Mind Counseling Center linked with welfare centers in permanent rental apartments, operation of permanent or temporary mobile counseling offices by district, and strengthen cooperation systems with police, education offices, youth and elderly-related organizations.
Especially for young people experiencing psychological and mental difficulties due to COVID-19, Gwangju City will conduct ‘Mind Link,’ a city-specialized project that has become a national model, providing focused support for youth mental health promotion and education, self-assessment and psychological counseling, early intervention programs for high-risk groups, and individual case management among various mental health services.
Gwangju City plans to gradually expand online and non-face-to-face services such as operating Kakao channels, social networking systems (SNS), a dedicated website for COVID depression response, and development of video educational materials, while operating a 24-hour counseling hotline to increase accessibility to mental health self-assessment, ongoing counseling, and mental health information.
The city will promote the ‘Mind Ppojjag’ campaign and various events quarterly to overcome COVID depression, and intensively publicize psychological support services and mental health information using various media such as city electronic billboards, radio, buses, and utility bills.
From February to December last year, Gwangju City conducted psychological support projects including 18,751 psychological consultations, 22,918 information provisions, and 1,388 in-depth consultations by mental health primary care physicians.
Park Hyang, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau of the city, said, “This year is a major turning point in COVID-19 with coexistence of expectations for vaccine and treatment development and economic and mental issues caused by the prolonged pandemic. We will continue to promote psychological support projects to help the psychological stability and mental recovery of Gwangju citizens affected by COVID-19 so that citizens can gain mental immunity and return healthily to daily life.”
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