Beijing, China – ‘Left-behind’ children suffer from mental health problems as they were isolated due to the one-child policy, while their parents move away to find work.
Children with mental health issues will always need a continuous visit to an urgent care clinic. Thus, the Chinese authorities are seeking to expand health provisions as well as to adopt preventive measures and psychotherapeutic approaches towards their young.
Health experts within the country have been promoting mental health and physical fitness programs since 2012. They have enlisted psychotherapists from other countries in order to help in training more health specialists and increasing awareness at the same time.
The first ever mental health law of China was passed the previous year, ordering pediatricians to employ a comprehensive patient screening. Doctor Zheng Yi, a mental health expert said the Chinese government has been paying so much attention to the psychological health of the country’s children and adolescents, considering the urgent care and treatment that they need.
The results of the research are expected to be released towards the end of the year, although preliminary findings have indicated that 15% of children suffer from mental health problems. The majority of the issues involve anxiety disorders, appearing to increase over time.
Zheng pointed out that most Chinese children do not suffer economically, but they have few opportunities to play and have fun. New problems affecting the children also involve dramatic changes in their family structures, and increase in their social and educational pressures. China’s transformation and the one-child policy have also contributed to the mental health issues, considering the children’s loneliness due to lack of company at their younger years.
Viviane Green, an international health expert from Birkbeck College, and one of the training program developers said the cases in China were almost similar to that in the United Kingdom (UK). Teenagers in the UK suffer from early attachment issues, which do not necessarily require visits to urgent care clinics because emotions are expressed, unlike within the Chinese culture. Green pointed out that good mental health is not about being separated and moving away.
The lack of child psychiatrists in the country should be addressed, Zheng said. By training general doctors and pediatricians, mental health problems can be solved through early diagnosis plus basic treatment.
Children with mental health disorders will need a sort of an urgent care near me facility, which can help them in accessing proper health care services. Zheng emphasized that the government should also focus on preventive measures and cure to properly address the increasing mental health problems of children in the country.