Preventing depression among students, a top national health priority

China has been enhancing work on prevention and treatment of depression among students, with recent efforts including screening of the illness during students' heath checks, the Ministry of Education has said.

The ministry's statement was a response to a proposal on depression prevention and treatment among teenagers put forth by the13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, during its fourth plenary session from March 4 to 10 this year.

China's mental health law introduced in 2013 explicitly defines depression as a mental illness. The ministry said it has been cooperating with the National Health Commission on depression prevention and treatment, as well as related education.

Their efforts include a work plan for depression prevention and treatment issued by the NHC last year, aimed at creating a social environment in favor of teenagers' mental health by the end of 2022.

It requires mental health education to be a compulsory course in secondary schools and colleges, guiding students to develop proper recognition of depression and correct ways to seek timely professional help if they are depressed.

According to the plan, an overall system for prevention, treatment and assessment of the illness should be established. In this system, screening for depression should be included in students' health checks and records should be kept to track students' mental health so as to offer timely interventions if they show signs of mental ailment.

Wang Feng, director of the Student Development Research Center of the General Education Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences, said all schools in Shanghai have either part-time or full-time psychological teachers to deliver mental health classes, such as how to handle foul emotions, and psychological counselling services.

Meanwhile, students' mental health conditions are tracked.

"When students are enrolled into a new school, they are usually asked to go through some small quizzes to see if they suffer from depression," he said. "If some students show signs of mental disorder, psychological teachers and other experienced teachers communicate with the students to make further assessment."

"For children with obvious symptoms of depression, we contact their families and recommend them to seek professional diagnosis and treatment at mental health hospitals," Wang added.

"We also recommend mental health hotlines, such as 962525 and 12355, for students to seek help if they have emotional problems."

Schools are supposed to make special arrangements based on the students' conditions, such as suspension and resumption of schooling and on-campus psychological assistance.

Wang said in recent years, Shanghai has been building an improved caring system for students, in which, schools, communities and government departments step up efforts to identify risks that push children into depression and get them necessary help.

Teachers keep a watch on various factors, such as students' personalities, family relationships, study performance and social ability, to figure out their mental state.

"During such observation, if teachers find some students who are not suffering from depression but are likely to be depressed if the risk factors continue to influence them, the schools give them more care and support while working with parents to get rid of such risks that lead to depression," Wang explained.

"We believe this is better than getting children diagnosed with depression, which might put high pressure on families and cause discrimination from others."

Wang said a program launched last year in Shanghai schools to enable each student to have a tutor has been helpful in operating the caring system.

"All teachers in schools are now paired up with students to get more close contact," he stated.

"Students can choose their favorite teachers as their mentors, so they might have more intimate emotional communication, in which teachers can perceive students' problems and give them corresponding suggestions or guidance."

Wang said the center and schools have been organizing various activities, such as lectures, to guide the public on the knowledge that depression is a mental sickness like an emotional cold and the earlier patients get treated, the better they can recover.

"Parents of students with potential problems now have a more positive attitude toward our suggestions, and most students we have screened out get proper treatment and recover well every year," Wang revealed.