Free psychological counseling for teenagers

Psychological counseling centers in public primary and secondary schools/universities, public welfare clinics in public mental health medical institutions, the Communist Youth League 12355 youth service platform, and regular NGO special service projects for youth groups. Service personnel in all channels must hold professional qualifications and can be connected with confidence. There is no need to blindly purchase commercial consulting services at high prices.

Speaking of which, when I was on duty at a community psychological service station last week, I encountered something like this: The mother of a third-year junior high school student clutched a crumpled midterm exam paper and her eyes were as swollen as walnuts. She said that in the past two months, she had been recommended by someone to find a "youth psychologist" from a commercial agency. The price was 800 an hour and nearly 20,000. The child became more and more reluctant to talk, closed the door when entering, and even refused to eat with the family. She also heard from a neighbor in the community that there was free psychological counseling for teenagers, so she came to ask half-heartedly, fearing that it would be another scam.

I have always heard parents complain before, saying that free psychological counseling is just a "newbie training". This is actually not true. Don’t underestimate school psychology teachers. Most of the psychology teachers in public schools now have a bachelor’s degree or above in a psychology-related major. They either hold a registered system counselor certificate or have a psychology teacher qualification certificate. They spend time in school every day, and they know better than outside counselors what worries middle school students today - whether they are isolated by their classmates, afraid of not getting into a key high school, or losing face when their teacher catches them in early love. These little things may be "blind pretentiousness" in the eyes of parents, but they are real emotional triggers in their eyes. I once met a high school sophomore who was socially anxious. He didn't dare to raise his hand to speak in class. He even went to the cafeteria to get food before going to the cafeteria. A business consultant gave him cognitive behavioral therapy for three months, but it didn't show much improvement. As a result, the school's psychology teacher coordinated with the class teacher and changed his duties from the common area in the corridor to sorting out the bookcases in the corner of the classroom. He also said hello to the class leaders and started asking him questions in class, starting with multiple-choice questions about whether he was right or wrong. Within a month, he was able to take the initiative to borrow notes from his classmates.

Oh, by the way, there is another point that many people overlook: psychological counseling in schools is kept confidential by default. Unless the child is at risk of self-harm or harming others, the chat content will not be disclosed to parents and teachers. This is actually much more reliable than many commercial consulting services that take money from parents and then reveal all the children’s secrets. After all, for adolescent children, a trusting relationship is the prerequisite for useful counseling.

Many people don't know that public mental health centers in various places actually have public welfare clinics for teenagers. For example, the public welfare accounts of Beijing Anding Hospital and Shanghai Mental Health Center open a batch every week. The doctors who attend the consultations are all attending doctors or above. The single consultation fee is free or only a few yuan registration fee is charged. It’s true that it’s hard to get an account. You have to click and squat. The time for a single consultation is shorter than that of commercial consultation, usually only 20 to 30 minutes. After all, resources are limited and we need to cover more people in need. But if the emotional problem has just appeared and has not yet reached the level of needing medication, this kind of professional initial screening and guidance is completely sufficient - I had a visitor's mother before, who first went to Jingwei's public welfare account. The doctor judged that the child had an adjustment disorder that had just entered high school, and gave three specific suggestions for family communication: Don't Ask about grades as soon as you get home, close the door without knocking, and take one day a week to go for a walk together without talking. The parents followed the instructions for less than half a month, and the child took the initiative to mention to her that he could not keep up with the math class. Later, he went to the teacher to make up for two weeks of classes, and his mood stabilized, and he did not spend any extra consulting fees.

If there is an emergency, such as a child having an emotional breakdown late at night and saying he doesn't want to live anymore, or being bullied at school and not telling the teacher or parents, just call the 12355 youth service hotline. There are people answering the call 24 hours a day, and all the people on the line are trained and certified counselors. One of my peers is on duty at 12355 two nights a week. Last winter, he even called 12355. A girl in the second grade of junior high school called and said she wanted to jump while sitting on the rooftop. He chatted with her online for more than 40 minutes. While stabilizing the child's mood, he simultaneously contacted local community workers to come to the door. Finally, she was safely picked up. Later, he also connected with the free family consultation service of the local Women's Federation. Now the girl has returned to school and has normal classes.

Of course, it must be said objectively that some of the free consultations are indeed supervised cases of novice counselors - that is, counselors who have just obtained certification receive cases under the guidance of mature supervisors. This type of consultation will generally be clearly informed during the connection. If the child has frequently suffered self-injury, long-term insomnia, and is tired of studying, it is preferable to choose a psychological teacher from the Jingwei Public Welfare Clinic or the school who has more than 3 years of experience. ； If you just have mood swings in adolescence and want to find someone to talk to who doesn't have to judge you, supervised novice cases are more suitable. They are often more patient, and all consulting plans must be reviewed by supervisors, so there will be no problems. On the contrary, they are more reliable than many "business experts" who have become monks halfway and are packaged.

In the past 6 years of working as a youth consultant, I have seen too many parents seek medical treatment in a hurry with the mentality of "the more expensive is the better". The so-called "experts" who spent tens of thousands of dollars to find the so-called "experts" asked the parents to smash their children's mobile phones. As a result, the children ran away from home. In the end, the school's psychology teacher found them. After chatting for a long time, they found out that their children secretly chatted with friends in a depression support group online. The mobile phone was his only emotional outlet. In fact, free youth psychological counseling is never a "second best" choice. It is a public resource with a public welfare attribute that adapts to different needs. If you are really not sure which one to look for, just call 12355 and ask. The staff will recommend the most suitable resource based on your situation. Don't waste money in vain and delay your child's problems.