Psychological counselors are expected to be introduced to Beijing's
primary and middle schools in the future, sources with the Beijing
Education Committee said Friday.
The committee is drafting an education scheme on mental health,
which calls for every primary and middle school in the city to
provide at least one psychological counselor for students,
according to Wang Rui, an official with the Moral Education
Department under the committee.
Certified professional psychological counselors are badly needed in
Beijing schools, Wang said yesterday.
The plan for improving mental health education in schools comes on
the heels of an incident last month in which a school boy committed
suicide after quarrelling with his teacher.
Liu Haitao, a Beijing second grade senior middle school student,
jumped to his death from a half-completed building after
quarrelling with his teacher on December 20.
Adolescents are prone to develop a rebellious spirit and excessive
pride, which may lead them to extreme actions, Wang said.
"Psychological consultation, which can help youths tide over
difficulties in their adolescence, is a must in schools," Wang
said.
"However, besides school education, young people's mental health
should be a concern of all of society, especially families," she
said.
Generally speaking, the mental health of Beijing's 1.52 million
primary and middle school students is good, according to Fang Ge, a
professor at the Psychology Institute under the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
However, prevention is better than cure, Fang admitted. She said
the earlier mental health education is introduced to youths, the
better results it will yield.
As
a member of an expert group on mental health education supervision
organized by the Beijing Education Committee, Fang and her peers
have already introduced pioneering mental health education programs
into some primary schools in Beijing, Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province
and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.
Some primary schools in Beijing's Daxing County hold weekly
psychological classes, which have been warmly welcomed by school
children, Fang said.
In
these classes, children are encouraged to role play and discuss
mental problems with others and try to resolve difficulties on
their own.
The trial mental health program was launched late last month in 200
primary and middle schools in 13 districts and counties in
Beijing.
The city now has approximately 3,000 primary and middle
schools.
(China Daily January 6,
2002)