Shaanxi counselor helps vulnerable groups cope with life

Besides, he says, psychological counseling is not about "telling you what to do".

It is more like an Chinese old saying, which goes: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Psychological counseling allows people to vent stress and encourages them to make their own choices, he says.

Statistics released by the Chinese Association of Mental Health in 2018 show that there are currently 33,400 psychiatrists in China, yet less than 30,000 psychological counselors provide professional psychological counseling services.

China needs 1.3 million psychological counselors to meet the World Health Organization's recommended standard "a counselor per thousand people".

Separately, in 2018, Duan set up the Baoji Social Work Association and established an integrated service system for social work called "One Committee, Two Centers" in Jintai district of Baoji city.

"One Committee, Two Centers" refers to the political and legal committee social security integrated management center and social work integrated service center.

The platform provides a convenient way for residents to make their appeals.

So far, with the optimization of the one-stop platform, efficiency has greatly improved and 450 cases have been resolved.

For legal or psychological counseling services, the platform guarantees response within a day. And feedback shows that the satisfaction level with the platform has reached 98 percent.

Currently, Duan is mainly in charge of recruitment and teaching psychology consultants. And his social work association has 12 members and more than 500 volunteers.