Assistance offered to bereaved parents, left-behind children and orphans

Duan Xiaopeng, 36, the director of Baoji Social Work Association in Shaanxi province, has always been concerned about socially vulnerable groups such as bereaved parents, left-behind children and orphans.

And despite being convinced that the authorities do their bit to help the less privileged, he tries to do his bit.

"Government policies fulfill the needs of most people. But I also want to satisfy some personalized needs of our citizens," he says.

Duan was one of the first licensed psychological consultants in Baoji.

And in 2008, he rushed to the earthquake-stricken area of Wenchuan in Sichuan province with volunteers to offer post-disaster psychological counseling to soldiers who were rescuing victims and the rescued earthquake victims.

In 2015, he established an art troupe for parents who had lost their only child.

Duan believes that if negative emotions like loneliness, emptiness and self-destruction are left unresolved, extreme anti-social behaviors or suicide may be caused.

Besides, he also focuses on psychological problems like depression and anxiety stemming from work pressure, family conflicts and interpersonal relationships.

Seeing people around him suffering from psychological distress and mental illness in his childhood, Duan was determined to devote himself to providing psychological help to people to prevent mental diseases.

And 10 years of experience has made him realize that mental health is important for social stability and people's happiness.

"We must stifle evil thoughts like committing suicide in the budding stage." says Duan.

During the recent Spring Festival celebrations, a New Year Gala was held at Baoji for bereaved parents. And a folk dance, tai chi, hulusi, and a qipao show were put up by the elderly.

According to Duan, there are 1 million bereaved parents in China. And most of these elderly parents are over 50 years old.

The elderly can stand only so much trauma in their later years.

"The loss of their only child killed their hopes", says Duan, adding that as a result the bereaved parents are likely to isolate themselves from the outside world.

"They feel uncomfortable especially when other relatives talk about their children."

Duan helps more than 1,000 bereaved parents and over 200 of them are part of the art troupe where activities like a spring outing, birthday parties and classes like hulusi, tai chi and dancing are held.

Liu, 65, who lost his only child, says that he has learned to use WeChat and takes part in various social activities with the help of volunteers.

Duan says that the "negative energy" in socially vulnerable groups does not affect him.

"As a counselor, I know the boundary between life and work.

"I sympathize with them but won't intervene unnecessarily."

In October 2010, Duan founded the Baoji Siyuan Psychological Research Institute and organized psychological experts and scholars to carry out mental health research and voluntary service.

And in November 2012, he set up the Baoji Mental Health Industry Association, promoting specialization and professionalism in psychological counseling and volunteer work.

Also, thanks to Duan's efforts, the local government is now focusing on the training of psychological counselors and the setting up of psychological counseling rooms in schools, communities and enterprises.

Duan says psychological counseling can't be done in one stroke. In fact, some need two to three months, or even a year to recover.

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.

Meanwhile, during the past five years, Duan has conducted more than 1,200 lectures on mental health in institutions, enterprises, communities, hospitals and schools covering nearly 100,000 people, besides initiating an online service platform, which has attracted more than 100,000 clicks.

Also, so far, his psychological counseling hotline has received more than 8,000 calls, and his two WeChat public accounts "Baoji Psychology" and "Baoji Mental Health" are attracting tens of thousands of viewers.

Looking to the future, Duan hopes to widen the scope of the mental health services.

"One day, mental illness will be just like any physical illness. And everyone will be conscious of how to prevent and treat it," he says.

In another development, Duan is helping create self-employment as the director of the Baoji Siyuan Psychological Research Institute.

"Like a lot of other enterprises, we register, rent venues, and hire employees. But the difference is that the company is for profit. The charity activities we hold are non-profit," says Duan.

"The company's income is attributed to individuals, and the income of the charity is used for institutional development."

For Duan, innovation is the most important aspect of social work. And he has sought more government support for organizations to fund public welfare activities, adding that they should enjoy preferential policies and loans for start-ups.

"Why not give us more support?" asks Duan.

In his words, these organizations also promote employment and contribute to social and economic development.

"Doing social work is about love and it needs to be passed on." says Duan.

Zhang Qiuting contributed to this story.