Gwanak-gu '2030 Youth Mind Listening Counseling Center' Operation

Operation of Dedicated Mental Counseling Room for the 2030 Generation, Small Group Mental Healing Programs, and High-Risk Group Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) is promoting the ‘2030 Youth Listening to Your Mind’ project to help the younger generation, who are in a psychologically vulnerable state due to prolonged COVID-19-related employment instability, relative poverty, and depression, express their difficult feelings and receive healing.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, social isolation from neighbors and mental and economic problems have caused the suicide rate among people in their 20s and 30s to increase by more than 40% compared to before the pandemic. Gwanak-gu has the highest number of single-person households in their 20s and 30s in Seoul, accounting for 66% of the total population, raising serious concerns about the mental health of the youth generation.

Accordingly, the district expanded its existing psychological counseling services targeting the 2030 generation by operating a Mind Counseling Room at the district health center and stationing professional counselors.

The ‘2030 Youth Listening to Your Mind’ project, expanded this year, targets young people in their 20s and 30s and single-person households. It analyzes their psychological state through professional psychological tests and conducts individual counseling with professional counselors to prevent extreme choices caused by depression and stress at an early stage, providing specialized mental health services.

Psychological counseling is conducted through six individual sessions by professional psychological counselors, helping participants face their strengths, weaknesses, and problems and work toward resolving them.

In particular, for those who need symptom improvement, small-group mind healing programs are operated. Participants who complete psychological counseling will be trained as suicide prevention guardians to assist suicide attempters by sharing their own psychological conflict resolution experiences.

Additionally, when high-risk suicide groups expected to be in emergency situations are identified, they will be referred and linked to relevant institutions, and continuous intervention for professional medical treatment will be maintained.

Individual psychological counseling for the 2030 Youth Listening to Your Mind project is available by prior reservation. Young people in their 20s and 30s and single-person households who wish to receive counseling can make a reservation by calling the Gwanak-gu Mental Health Welfare Center.

For more information about the project, inquiries can be made to the Gwanak-gu Health Center’s Community Health Division or the Gwanak-gu Mental Health Welfare Center.

Mayor Park Junhee said, “I hope that individual psychological counseling, which shares the concerns of the 2030 generation taking their first steps in society and helps develop problem-solving skills, will be an opportunity for them to look into their own minds and heal their wounds by themselves.” He added, “We will continue to strive to improve the ability to cope with mental health issues and create a mentally healthy Gwanak so that local residents experiencing anxiety and stress due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic are not exposed to depression and other mental health problems.”

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