Seoul Jung-gu, Psychological Support for Residents of Life Treatment Centers

If Identified as High-Risk Group, External Counseling Referral... Active Support for Mental Health Recovery Through Continuous Counseling After Discharge

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) has actively stepped up psychological support services for the mental health recovery of patients admitted to the community treatment center.

The Jung-gu Community Treatment Center has been operating since January 8 to provide prompt and appropriate medical services for asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 confirmed cases among Jung-gu residents.

According to the "COVID-19 National Mental Health Survey (October 2020)" conducted by the Korean Society of Trauma Stress, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and fear have increased due to COVID-19, highlighting the need for mental health-related services in addition to economic support.

Accordingly, Jung-gu provides psychological counseling, mental health self-assessment, and psychological coping methods through the Jung-gu Mental Health Welfare Center to address not only infectious disease treatment but also stress caused by the stigma of being a confirmed case and isolation life, creating a stable treatment environment.

The Jung-gu Mental Health Welfare Center takes measures to ensure appropriate services through non-face-to-face counseling. If high-risk groups are identified based on mental health self-assessment results, they coordinate with the Jung-gu Public Health Center medical support team, national trauma psychiatry specialists, and in-depth COVID-19 public counseling to request further consultation.

Furthermore, continuous counseling and support for mental health recovery are provided as needed even after discharge.

In addition, psychological counseling and psychological support supplies are provided to Jung-gu residents and those in self-quarantine who are mentally exhausted due to COVID-19 to help relieve anxiety and stress.

One patient at the Jung-gu Community Treatment Center expressed gratitude, saying, "At first, I thought I would adapt well to the community treatment center and didn’t think I needed counseling, but as time went by, I became very depressed and frustrated, which caused a lot of stress. After receiving counseling, I felt better and my depressive feelings improved significantly. I realized why counseling is necessary."

Meanwhile, the Jung-gu Mental Health Welfare Center provided great help to residents last year by continuously guiding psychological coping methods using mobile devices, conducting COVID-19 overcoming events, distributing disaster support psychological kits, and offering online lectures. In 2021, they plan to continue providing mobile psychological coping methods and develop various programs that residents can participate in.

The Jung-gu Mental Health Welfare Center offers free services to Jung-gu residents, including ▲mental health counseling and case management services ▲suicide crisis management and bereaved family counseling ▲mental health education. Any Jung-gu resident interested in mental health counseling, education, or programs can contact the Jung-gu Mental Health Welfare Center for information, and online self-assessment is also available on their website (www.junggumind.or.kr).

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