Seoul City Opens 4th Round of Youth Mental Health Support... Final Applications This Year

Since the 1st, Pilot Introduction of Digital Mental Health App... In-depth Counseling and App Use for 500 Participants Concurrently Implemented

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 13th that it will recruit an additional 2,000 participants for the "Seoul Youth Mental Health Support Project" by the 19th to provide one-on-one in-depth counseling. This is the final recruitment of the year, and any Seoul resident youth aged 19 to 39 who are experiencing anxiety, depression, or lethargy can apply through the Youth Mongttang Information Center.

Selected participants in the Youth Mental Health Support Project will undergo a preliminary online mental health self-assessment introduced this year, and based on the test results, they can receive up to seven personalized one-on-one counseling sessions.

Kim Cheol-hee, head of the Seoul Future Youth Planning Team, said, "We are currently operating an advisory group composed of experts from various fields including psychiatrists, counselors, and youth policy specialists to establish scientific standards and manuals for each stage from diagnosis to follow-up management." He added, "Based on these results, we expect to provide more systematic mental health care for Seoul's youth next year."

Meanwhile, Seoul has introduced a digital mental health app service to help youth manage their mental health scientifically and systematically on their own. Since the 1st of this month, the app has been piloted with 500 participants of the "Seoul Youth Mental Health Support Project," focusing on intensive mental health management. The effectiveness of the digital app will continue to be enhanced through monitoring by assigned counselors.