Eunpyeong-gu Supports Psychological Counseling for COVID-19 Self-Quarantined Individuals and Overworked Staff

Infectious Disease Stress Counseling at Eunpyeong-gu Psychological Support Center 'Dadogim'... Psychological Support Services for COVID-19 Overworked Staff Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, daily life is changing significantly. With continuous reports of cluster infections, not only residents but also frontline public officials are experiencing accumulated fatigue and difficulties.

In response, Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) has prepared and is implementing various psychological support measures to help overcome these situations.

First, to support the psychological stability and healthy daily life of those in self-quarantine, psychological comfort supplies are being provided. Due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, self-quarantined individuals who are experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression are given a mind care guidebook, stress balls, bean sprout growing kits, and stretching bands.

Additionally, psychological support services are offered to employees overwhelmed by COVID-19 duties, providing mental and physical relief to exhausted staff.

From September 7 to 29, Eunpyeong-gu conducted necessary assessments for burnout, stress, and depression among employees fatigued by COVID-19 related work, and provided one-on-one face-to-face counseling with psychological experts to help alleviate their current mental burdens.

Based on the counseling, personalized stress relief methods are offered to support employees suffering from excessive workloads in recovering their mental and physical health. If further counseling or referrals are needed, the “Dadokim” program and relevant institutions will be engaged to help restore the employees’ worn-out spirits.

Moreover, Eunpyeong-gu plans to provide online psychological support counseling for residents experiencing anxiety and hardship during self-quarantine and those accumulating mental fatigue.

Previously, counseling was conducted through applications to the Eunpyeong-gu Public Health Center’s psychological counseling center “Dadokim,” but due to the spread of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area, face-to-face counseling was temporarily suspended. Currently, efforts are underway to establish an individual counseling website to provide online (non-face-to-face) counseling services. In the future, psychological counseling will be conducted via email or the counseling website’s bulletin board, and an environment is being created to allow immediate simple psychological tests for smartphone addiction, depression, anxiety, and more.

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, “Although it is a difficult situation, I offer words of comfort to the employees who are doing their best on the COVID-19 frontlines so that those in self-quarantine spending time indoors do not become exhausted.” She added, “We will continue to review and implement support for employees to recover from work-related stress and ensure smooth operation of COVID-19 related duties,” conveying a message of encouragement.

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