Seoul City Offers Free 'In-depth Psychological Counseling' to 2,000 Young Adults in Their 20s and 30s

Budget of 2 Billion Won Allocated for 7 Counseling Sessions for Depression and Panic Disorder

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the launch of the "Youth Mental Health Support Project," which provides free in-depth psychological counseling to approximately 2,000 young people aged 19 to 34 who are experiencing psychological and emotional difficulties.

To support young people who hesitated to receive psychological counseling due to high costs, the program offers coverage for a basic seven counseling sessions. The scope of psychological counseling support, previously limited to participants of the "Youth Allowance," has now been expanded to include all young people.

Among the youth participating in the Seoul Youth Allowance over the past three years, the proportion classified as high-risk groups, such as those facing suicide crises or neurosis, was 10.8% out of 4,909 in 2017, 8.5% out of 7,315 in 2018, and 8.0% out of 6,528 in 2019.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government connects young people struggling with depression, panic disorder, unemployment, career and job issues, interpersonal relationships, and other difficulties with professional psychological and emotional counselors on a one-on-one basis, helping them maintain their mental health in daily life independently. While strictly guaranteeing participants' anonymity, the program aims to lower the barrier to counseling by reducing burdens and to provide tangible benefits through a counseling system tailored to youth sensitivities.

In particular, this project reflects the reality of increasing psychological and emotional problems among the 20s and 30s generation by being directly planned and proposed by the youth themselves. A new budget of 2 billion KRW has been allocated this year through the "Youth Autonomous Budget."

To maximize participation opportunities for young people, the city will recruit and select participants four times this year. In the first round, from the 22nd of this month to the 6th of next month, a total of 500 to 700 participants will be selected through the online Seoul Youth Portal (youth.seoul.go.kr).

Kim Young-kyung, head of the Seoul Youth Bureau, said, "Until now, mental health issues among youth have been left to individuals and families, but now it is necessary for the public sector to communicate and solve these problems together." She added, "We will thoroughly implement measures to drastically reduce counseling fees, establish a counseling system suited to youth sensitivities, and link regional lifestyle vitality programs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.