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In my country, there are many patients with depression who need treatment. According to the China Mental Health Survey published in The Lancet Psychiatry in 2021,About 95 million people in China suffer from depression, and 40% of the 280,000 suicides each year are caused by depression.

Treatments for depression generally include medication, psychotherapy, biological therapy, and other auxiliary therapies. Currently, some public hospitals have psychological clinics that, in addition to common medications,Interview-based psychotherapy is the main treatment method.

Unlike ordinary social psychological counseling, psychotherapy can only be carried out in medical institutions and diagnosed by qualified practitioners. However, due to the limited number of hospitals with psychological clinics, patients often have difficulty making appointments, and the better doctors may even have to wait for half a year to get an appointment.

Social psychological counseling agencies only provide psychological counseling services.As long as you have the qualification of a level 2 psychological counselor or above, you can provide guidance and advice to visitors.

Pingping, a 21-year-old college student, suffered from moderate depression due to long-term isolation and soft violence from her roommate. After receiving several psychological counseling services, her mood became even more broken.Not only did my mood not improve, but my wallet was also hit hard.

She made an online appointment with a mid-level counselor, who charged 400 yuan per hour. Since the effect of "talk therapy" was slow, the counselor suggested that she go at least once a week. After a month, Pingping had spent several thousand yuan.

Pingping said,Psychological counseling is like a tree hole. You only feel good during the hour you vent.But once you walk out of the consultation room, the haze of depression will fill your heart again because the counselor did not give you very good advice.

Some people are willing to "spend money to buy happiness", but some people will not pay for happiness. Anna, 30, fell into depression after giving birth. When she called the appointment number of a mental hospital and said the name of a well-known expert, the nurse on the other end of the phone asked: "The director's consultation fee is relatively high, the unit price is 1,000 yuan per hour, are you sure you want to make an appointment?"

Anna struggled internally for a moment and hung up the phone. She said:"It costs so much money to feel better, I would rather continue to be depressed."

So, is the high price of psychological counseling proportional to the quality of its services?

In the treatment of mental and psychological illnesses, psychological counseling actually plays an important role. This service can deeply deal with the inner trauma of patients or visitors, help patients achieve psychological growth, and truly get out of pain.

Although psychotherapy cannot be used alone for severe depressive episodes, studies have shown thatPsychotherapy is as effective as antidepressants for treating mild to moderate depression.

If a psychologist really has the ability to cure patients, then the high price is acceptable. However, many patients have said that psychological counseling is not as reliable as they imagined.

39 Take a Deep Breath and search on social platforms and find thatMany patients reported that they were deceived during psychological counseling."I spent a lot of money, but I don't know if the psychologist is professional or not." "After seeing the expensive psychologist, I feel even more devastated." "The doctor doesn't understand my situation at all." "I went to the psychiatric department of a tertiary hospital, and the male doctor told me that I would be fine if I had a baby."...

◎ Picture: Screenshot from Weibo

Nowadays, with the increasing demand for psychological counseling from depression patients, various psychological counseling institutions have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. The China Economic Industry Research Institute reported thatIn the past 10 years, the number of existing psychological counseling institutions in my country has exceeded 100,000, with an average annual growth rate of more than 40%.

The psychological counseling market is developing rapidly, but the relevant talents cannot keep up, resulting in chaos. It is understood that some psychological counseling services charge thousands of yuan, but the professional abilities of their counselors are uneven.As a "non-entry profession", psychological counselors do not actually need to obtain relevant licenses or qualifications to take up the job, but many institutions often promote the "psychological counselor training certificate" as a "professional qualification certificate", which leads to misunderstanding.

In addition, some institutions even "sell dog meat under the guise of sheep meat", claiming to be psychological counseling, but actually engaging in astrology, fortune-telling, holographic therapy and other businesses.

Some experts said,Psychological counseling is a course that requires lifelong learning, it takes about the same amount of time to train a psychological counselor as it does to train an internal medicine physician, and the systematic training process is similar to that of a master's degree in clinical medicine. However, according to the Legal Daily,As long as you complete the required course hours, it only takes a few months to get a certificate and work as a psychological counselor. However, the professional level of some practitioners is very limited.

Depression can cause a variety of harm to individuals, such as persistent irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, and poor energy. Patients have low self-esteem, think that everything about themselves is bad, that their future is bleak, and lack interest in anything. When the disease develops seriously, it can cause physical symptoms including palpitations, chest tightness, constipation, and weight loss. Some patients, who do not know how to treat it, eventually choose suicide.

In order to reduce the treatment costs of patients with mental illness and improve the mental health literacy of residents,In recent years, many places in my country have included psychotherapy in medical insuranceFor example, Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places have gradually included psychotherapy in the scope of medical insurance payment.

Taking Guangdong Province as an example, starting from August 15, 2021, psychological treatment projects will be officially reimbursed, with tertiary hospitals reimbursing 200 yuan each time, secondary hospitals reimbursing 180 yuan each time, and primary hospitals reimbursing 160 yuan each time.

This move not only reduces patients' treatment costs, but also eliminates patients' sense of shame about their illness to a certain extent, allowing patients to walk into the hospital with confidence.

◎ Picture: Panoramic Vision

However, the inclusion of psychotherapy in medical insurance is currently only a local policy and has not been promoted nationwide. The high cost of treatment is still a major "heartache" for patients with depression.

In addition, considering the actual situation,The lack of psychological clinics in medical institutions, high consultation fees, mixed industry conditions, and difficult-to-quantify treatment effects,These have brought many challenges to the medical treatment of patients with mental illnesses such as depression.

Since counselors at social and psychological counseling institutions do not have prescription rights and cannot prescribe medication, it is recommended thatPatients with more severe depression are best to go to the hospital, under the guidance of a doctor, carry out systematic treatment through medication or other methods.