Demand for psychological counselling has increased in China. With any other industry, that would be cause for celebration – China has made private enterprise a priority as it pushes for sustained economic recovery – but a higher demand for mental health services carries other, more troubling implications.
These phenomena are motivating people to seek psychological therapy and self-help in larger numbers, leading to a tenfold increase in the number of counselling institutions from 2011 to 2020 according to data from Qcc.com, a corporate credit information provider. The number soared by more than 60 per cent year on year in 2022, reaching 30,700.
A gap between expectations and reality could be the cause for many people who seek counselling, Huang said. “Parents of many teenagers were raised after China kicked off reform and opening-up in the 1980s, rode the crest of the economic boom and had high hopes their children would replicate their success,” she said. “ deeply averse to the idea fail to achieve their full potential in school or not land an ideal job.
Annual expenditures on counselling over the past three years averaged 6,500 yuan per person, and 90 per cent of clients have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the survey population said. The group was polled as part of the 2023-2024 Mental Health and Industry Population Insight Report, jointly released by Jiandanxinli.com – a platform that connects therapists with clients- and the CBNData Business Data Center.
“I started receiving psychological counselling once a week,” Lu said. “It was worth the money. Although it’s hard to say how helpful it was in the end, I feel relieved. “China has developed so fast over the past 40 years, which resulted in dramatic changes in lifestyles but also a rise of anxieties,” Shen said. “These include the clash between Western lifestyles and traditional Chinese family values, the sudden onset of epidemics and economic uncertainties, and a rising sense of anxiety among the younger generation.”