How China Deals With Mental Health?

China’s community-based mental health system was largely eliminated with the introduction of the market economy. Therefore,

mental health service provision has become primarily hospital-based

. Patients can access tertiary psychiatric hospitals directly, bypassing the primary and secondary health care levels.

How did ancient China deal with mental illness?

The earliest known record of mental illness in ancient China dates back to 1100 B.C. Mental disorders were treated mainly under

Traditional Chinese Medicine using herbs, acupuncture or “emotional therapy”

.

Do the Chinese believe in therapy?

“A lot of Chinese are very reluctant to seek psychological treatment for their suffering simply because there’s a very negative association with mental illness.

They shun the word ‘therapy,’

” Shen says.

Is there mental illness in China?

Depression and anxiety are the two most prevalent mental health disorders in China

. Other mental health disorders include bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia and other psychoses, dementia, intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders including autism.

Does depression exist in China?

Since that research was conducted, epidemiological studies have indicated that

the rates of depression are increasing in China

. “But still, in those epidemiological studies, their rates of depression are much lower than in the West,” he said.

Do Chinese believe in depression?

Highlights.

A large proportion of Chinese people hold high levels of stigmatizing attitudes towards depression

. Perceived stigma was higher than personal stigma in a Chinese community. Relevant health education programs should be conducted to improve the general public’s literacy about depression.

When did Hippocrates define mental illness?

It was

around 400 BC

that Hippocrates (460–370 BC) attempted to separate superstition and religion from medicine by systematizing the belief that a deficiency in or especially an excess of one of the four essential bodily fluids (i.e., humors)—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—was responsible for physical and …

What is the history behind mental health?

During the Middle Ages, the mentally ill were believed to be possessed or in need of religion

. Negative attitudes towards mental illness persisted into the 18th century in the United States, leading to stigmatization of mental illness, and unhygienic (and often degrading) confinement of mentally ill individuals.

How were mental illnesses treated in the past?

Isolation and Asylums

Overcrowding and poor sanitation were serious issues in asylums, which led to movements to improve care quality and awareness. At the time,

medical practitioners often treated mental illness with physical methods

. This approach led to the use of brutal tactics like ice water baths and restraint.

Does China regulate psychotherapy?

The demand for psychotherapy in China is booming among its nearly 1.4 billion citizens. But psychologists are largely unable to help meet the demand for a simple reason:

In 2013, a new law went into effect that, among other provisions, restricts the ability of psychologists in mainland China to offer psychotherapy

.

Does China have psychiatric hospitals?

According to China’s Mental Health Law,

people can be admitted to a psychiatric hospital through two paths: generally, via voluntary admission and exceptionally via involuntary admission.

Is psychology in demand in China?

There is a huge demand among psychological professionals to copy the West

, with increasing research on the high rate of suicide attempts, divorced families, problems in the education system, social conflicts, and urbanisation, along with the modernisation of the economic level of society.

How many psychologists are in China?

China has

roughly 5000

clinical psychologists, compared to the United States, which has roughly 200,000 psychologists, for a population of one-quarter in size. Also, only a small number of economically well-developed areas in China have social workers serving mental health patients.

How many psychiatric hospitals are in China?

At present, there are

nearly 3000

mental health service institutions in China, including psychiatric specialist hospitals, general hospital psychiatry, primary healthcare institutions, general clinics, mental health clinics and rehabilitation hospitals.

What percent of China is depressed?

BEIJING — The prevalence rate of depression in China reached 2.1 percent last year, and that of anxiety disorders reached 4.98 percent, said an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference on Dec 23.

How was China affected by the Great Depression?

The rural economy of the Republic of China

The rural economy was hit much harder

by the Great Depression, when domestic overproduction of agricultural goods as well as an increase in foreign imports (as agricultural goods produced in western countries were “dumped” in China) led to a collapse in food prices.

Will China have a recession?

While

the possibility of a full-fledged Chinese financial crisis and a recession can’t be ruled out

, the more likely scenario is a rough start to 2022—and further restructuring of offshore property debt—followed by rebounding growth later in the year in the run-up to the party congress.

Why do Westerners have depression?

Our work suggests

Western culture has been globalising happiness

, contributing to an epidemic of depression. As our understanding of depression begins to move beyond individual-level factors to include social and cultural value systems, we need to question whether cultural values are making us happy.

What are Chinese cultures?

Chinese culture is

one of the world’s oldest cultures

, tracing back to thousands of years ago. Important components of Chinese culture includes ceramics, architecture, music, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy and religion.

How did Hippocrates treat patients?

To this end, Hippocrates believed “rest and immobilization [were] of capital importance”. In general, the Hippocratic medicine was very kind to the patient;

treatment was gentle, and emphasized keeping the patient clean and sterile

.

Who invented mental health?

At the beginning of the 20th century,

Clifford Beers

founded “Mental Health America – National Committee for Mental Hygiene”, after publication of his accounts as a patient in several lunatic asylums, A Mind That Found Itself, in 1908 and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States.

What did Hippocrates believe caused illness?

Hippocrates and other doctors worked on the assumption that

all diseases had a natural cause

rather than a supernatural one. Priests believed that an illness such as epilepsy was caused by the gods. Hippocrates believed that with all other illnesses it had a natural cause.

Which country has the best mental health care system?

What percentage of the world’s population has depression?

Depression is a common illness worldwide, with an estimated

3.8%

of the population affected, including 5.0% among adults and 5.7% among adults older than 60 years (1). Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression (1).