China Medical News

Beijing's first private mental health clinic opened on August 2nd. The clinic is located in downtown Beijing, and is the first private mental health medical institution approved by the health authorities. The clinic is also China's first mental health clinic to combine online and in-person services. Fifteen mental health experts from major Beijing hospitals will offer medical services at the clinic as part of a move to encourage doctors to serve patients in multiple hospitals and clinics. China had 4.3 million severely mentally ill patients on official record at the end of 2014. To address a lack of mental health professionals, the 2015-2020 plan for mental health work encourages health institutes to set up psychology clinics and strengthen staff training, raising the projected number of doctors specializing in mental disorders to 40,000 by 2020. (Source: Xinhua)