Changnyeong-gun Mental Health Welfare Center Promotes Awareness Improvement Project for Patients with Severe Illnesses

A Warm Journey for Early Detection and the Mental Health of Gunmin

The Changnyeong-gun Mental Health Welfare Center in Gyeongnam announced on the 11th that it will focus on awareness improvement projects this year to promote residents' mental health and early detection of severe mental illnesses.

The center will implement ▲ severe mental illness management projects ▲ local mental health crisis response projects (suicide prevention) ▲ child and adolescent mental health promotion projects ▲ integrated mental health promotion projects for high-risk groups and the general public.

Changnyeong-gun Mental Health Welfare Center.
Photo by Changnyeong-gun

The ‘Severe Mental Illness Management Project’ is divided into management for registered individuals and unregistered individuals. Registered individuals are managed according to a service provision plan, with case managers visiting them directly for counseling and providing rehabilitation programs tailored to participants' needs and functional levels.

Additionally, for registered severe mental illness patients who require inpatient or outpatient treatment, outpatient medical expenses of up to 30,000 KRW per month are supported, and treatment costs are also covered through the Mental Illness Treatment Support Project by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

For unregistered individuals who have not registered with the center, continuous counseling and collaboration with community resources will be used to encourage registration if necessary. Follow-up care will be provided through continuous monitoring, and contact attempts will be made for up to three months for those who have lost contact, striving to manage severe mental illness patients within the jurisdiction to the best of their ability.

The ‘Local Mental Health Crisis Response Project’ operates a 24-hour counseling hotline to actively respond to mental health crises in the community. In emergencies, center staff respond with police and fire services during the day, and at night, rapid response is ensured through cooperation with the Metropolitan Mental Health Welfare Center’s crisis intervention team.

Furthermore, the local mental health crisis response council is held four times a year, with cooperation among the Mental Health Welfare Center, police, fire services, and psychiatric medical institutions.

In collaboration with public and private institutions such as local post offices, the center will identify high-risk residents with a history of suicide attempts and provide counseling and treatment opportunities, strengthening local mental health crisis response through early intervention awareness improvement projects.

The ‘Child and Adolescent Mental Health Promotion Project’ works in connection with schools and community child and adolescent institutions to early identify individuals experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties and provide various psychological support services when treatment is needed.

The ‘Integrated Mental Health Promotion Project for High-Risk Groups and the General Public’ operates a ‘Night Mental Health Counseling Room’ every Tuesday from February through the end of this year to improve access to mental health services. By appointment, individuals can receive one-on-one psychological counseling from mental health professionals.

Additionally, mobile mental health counseling rooms, the Mind Safety Bus, resident mental care services, and unmanned mental health screening devices are operated to help residents recover from depression and stress-related mental health issues.

Park Jeong-sook, director of the Changnyeong-gun Mental Health Welfare Center, stated, “In the new year 2024, we will continue to work together with the community to help residents experiencing emotional difficulties regain their mental health and improve their quality of life, striving to spread a healthy mental health culture.”