Seongnam City Protects Adolescent Mental Health with Visiting "Mind Doodream School" Program

Creating a Healthy School Culture Through Practical Education on Coping with Depression and Stress in Seongnam City

On August 12, Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Shin Sang-jin) announced that it will operate the "Mind Doodream School" educational program from August to October for four local middle schools selected through advance applications and registration, with the aim of preventing mental health issues among adolescents and improving awareness.

Seongnam City Hall exterior. Provided by Seongnam City

The city explained that the need for systematic education for early prevention and awareness improvement of mental health issues is growing, as the average annual number of adolescents nationwide receiving mental health-related treatment increased by 65.5% from 2018 to 2022, and the suicide rate per 100,000 teenagers in Gyeonggi Province rose from 5.4 to 7.6, indicating a worsening of adolescent mental health problems.

In response, Seongnam City is collaborating with local public healthcare institutions and medical organizations, such as the Seongnam Medical Association, to have psychiatrists visit schools and deliver special lectures on topics including depression, stress, and emotional regulation.

The program will begin at Yangyeong Middle School on August 12 and will be held sequentially at a total of four middle schools?Bopyeong, Unjung, and Maesong?through October. In addition, the city plans to select two more schools for the program through an additional demand survey in August.

The city hopes that this program will enhance mental health awareness and empathy among local middle school students and teachers, and help spread an emotionally stable learning environment.

A Seongnam City official stated, "Mental health education for adolescents is an important investment in future generations," adding, "We will continue to create a sustainable mental health care environment in which schools and the local community work together."

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