China Bolsters Mental Health Services with National Hotline and Expanded Resources

In the early hours of a June morning, a young woman in her twenties contacted the national mental health hotline, expressing distress. The counselor on the line listened attentively, guiding her through a process to identify the source of her anxiety and practice coping strategies.

According to Zhang Qing'e, vice-president of Beijing Anding Hospital, the woman realized that changes in her living situation and family issues were contributing to her anxiety. She was then taught simple relaxation techniques. By the end of the call, she reported feeling significantly better and had gained a new perspective on managing her challenges.

The case highlights the hotline's role in providing psychological support, emotional relief, and cognitive guidance. Beijing is among the first regions in the country to launch the hotline earlier this year, as the nation works to improve mental health services in response to increasing mental health challenges.

Since May 1st, the 12356 hotline has been operational across all 31 provincial-level regions, handling over 500,000 calls. Beijing currently operates nine daytime and two nighttime phone lines, with Beijing Anding Hospital being one of 16 medical institutions managing the hotline in the city.

The hotline offers various services, including mental health education, counseling, emotional support, and crisis intervention. Most callers seek help with issues in personal relationships and family conflicts, often experiencing anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. By the end of June, Beijing had received over 22,700 calls, averaging 125 calls per day, with peak hours between 6 pm and 10 pm.

The hotline has proven effective in addressing the urgent mental health needs of residents, particularly young and middle-aged adults, serving as a crucial psychological support channel. The establishment of the national hotline is part of a broader effort to expand psychological services.

Psychological clinics are now available in 330 municipal-level regions, and sleep disorder clinics have been established in 324 such regions. The nation has also organized over 4,600 mental health lectures, reaching more than 900,000 people.

Efforts have also focused on increasing psychiatric clinical care capacity and training more psychiatrists. In Shandong province, 111 out of 136 county-level regions now have dedicated psychiatric hospitals, and all counties offer inpatient mental healthcare. The province has trained over 800 psychiatric physicians, increasing the number of psychiatrists per 100,000 people to 5.8, and has also trained 25,000 grassroots mental health workers.