Chinese psychiatrists have come up with a novel therapy for the mentally ill + let them do moderate physical labor on farmland or in orchards during their recovery after a period of treatment.

Moderate farm work will enable the mental patients to relax and lessen their chances of relapse, experts of the Shanghai Mental Health Center said Friday on World Mental Health Day, which falls on Oct. 10 each year.

The center has, working in cooperation with the Shanghai-based Shenlong Forestry Company, set up a two-thirds-hectare farming base in the suburbs, offering therapeutic programs like growing crops or planting fruit trees or breeding aquatics.

The center plans to accommodate 200 people with mental problems in the initial stage, who will work and live in both a self- reliant and cooperative manner.

According to experts, many recovering mental patients are usually disengaged and have difficulties in further recovery because of the lack of professional instruction and guidance.

In addition to traditional methods helping mentally-ill people, experts in recent years have come up with a series of new therapies involving music, sports, painting, cooking, knitting and doing Chinese calligraphy.

Yao Weixin, a senior psychiatrist and official with Shanghai's mental health promotion department, cited the farming therapy as conducive to increase patients' working ability, distract their wrongly-placed attention, reduce hallucinations, and rid themselves from forced thinking resulting from their mental illness.

In the meantime, bright sunlight, fresh air, moderate work and active personal contact will enhance the self-confidence of patients, Yao added.

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