Gao Tianming. Photo by Southern ** reporter Xu Shuzhi.
A child's mental health affects not only the future of a child, but also the future of a society. During the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress, Gao Tianming, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a professor at Southern Medical University, plans to submit a proposal on the mental health of children and adolescents, suggesting that the society pay more attention to related topics. As an expert in the field of brain science, Gao Tianming appealed to the public in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the south: "Mental illness is like other common diseases, and if you find a problem, you should go to the hospital in time."
Southern ** reporter Zhong Zhe.
More attention should be paid to adolescent mental health.
South**: Why focus on the topic of mental health of children and adolescents?
Gao Tianming: As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a brain science researcher, I have always been concerned about adolescent mental health. After field research and exchanges, I feel that adolescent mental health issues deserve more attention from the society.
On the one hand, the mental health service resources of schools still need to be integrated, for example, urban primary and secondary schools can basically be equipped with full-time and part-time mental health teachers, but there are still relatively few teachers in township primary and secondary schools who can do it. In general, the number of mental health teachers in schools is small, and if the school does not have the ability to provide relevant technical training, teachers will not be able to obtain sufficient capacity building and growth support, and their service capacity will not be effectively improved. On the other hand, the content, form, and use of mental health examinations have not yet been standardized, and different psychometric tools have been selected in different regions and schools.
I have also observed that some parents and schools are currently avoiding talking about mental health. In fact, mental health problems, like other common diseases, can be affected by anyone, and need to be actively addressed, and there are ways to solve them.
It is advisable to hire a psychiatrist to support the school.
South**: What are your specific suggestions for these issues?
Gao Tianming: The solution of adolescent mental health problems is a systematic project, which requires the joint participation of schools, society, families, and medical institutions.
I suggest that first of all, we should strengthen the construction of the school psychological assessment system, combine epidemiological investigations, field investigations and scientific research to determine a unified screening system for the mental health status of children and adolescents in the region, and arrange scientific "mental health examinations" for students. At the same time, establish a student-centered mental health information platform, establish mental health growth files, discover fluctuations in psychological conditions, and provide timely help and intervention.
Second, it is necessary to improve the psychological intervention capacity of schools, with the education department taking the lead and jointly organizing public psychiatric and psychological medical institutions to regularly organize psychological teachers to carry out professional training and supervision. The education department is to take the lead in hiring mental health social workers for schools, and hire psychiatrists and psychologists to support all levels and types of primary and secondary schools. Strengthen the follow-up of key student groups and timely intervention and referral, and provide special support for children and adolescents with mental illness.
Thirdly, it is necessary to improve the mental health service capacity of medical institutions, increase the number of pediatric psychiatric practitioners, psychologists, and psychological nurses, increase the salary of professionals, and provide sufficient service capacity for psychological intervention for children and adolescents.
In the future, it is expected that "mental gymnastics" will be developed
South**: How can we let the society know more about mental health science?
Gao Tianming: It is necessary to strengthen the publicity of mental health science knowledge, build a mechanism for the release and dissemination of mental health science knowledge mainly by mental health workers, and improve the awareness and recognition of the public, especially students and parents, on the core knowledge of mental health, so as to improve their mental health literacy level. At the same time, it encourages the construction of a science popularization practice base for brain science in children and adolescents, which will help eliminate the public's misunderstanding of mental illness, cultivate and stimulate students' curiosity and imagination in brain science research, and reserve future talents for cognitive science research.
South**: As an expert in the field of brain science, how will your research drive improvements in adolescent mental health?
Gao Tianming: In the face of academic or life pressure, every child's ability to resist pressure is different. We are doing some research on this, and we have found that we can use some training to improve the stress resistance of animals, just as we can improve the cardiopulmonary function through training running.
The relevant research results have not yet been published, but we believe that the direction is already there, and it is possible to develop "mental gymnastics" that is as easy to promote as eye exercises and broadcast gymnastics in the future, so that children can have a stronger tolerance in the face of stress and reduce the probability of mental health problems.
Co-ordinator: Shang Liyang.