Korea’s mental health services get an image makeover
한국의 정신 치료, 상담에 대한 인식 변화
People in Korea are reluctant to seek professional psychiatric help, eventhough it’s normal for MOST PEOPLE to face mental challenges, be them big or small.
Fearful of being branded as weak or even abnormal, most Koreans still prefer solving their problems on their own.
For our News Feature tonight, our Kim Jung-soo shows us how the country’s mental health professionals are dealing with this unique image problem.
While Korea offers state-of-the-art mental health services and facilities for people in need, perhaps the biggest obstacle they face is a mental barrier of another kind.
Receiving professional help is heavily stigmatized by Korean society as a sign of weakness, while many view mental illness as something that can be cured simply by waiting.
“Many believe that those who seek treatment are weak and inferior, but they are actually the ones with courage and the initiative to admit something is wrong, and they have a strong desire to make their lives better.”
“But it appears some have taken a more hands-on and creative approach to changing the public’s perception of mental health services, with great success.”
Take this speeding truck, for example.
It’s designed to carry a different kind of cargo than ordinary vehicles.
It belongs to Dr. Im Jae-young, who has driven it around the city of Ui-wang in Gyeonggi-do Province since March of 2016, offering free advice in an attempt to make counseling a lot more accessible… and he’s already reached more than 250 people.
“I spent seven years sitting and waiting for patients to come to me, which was a pretty frustrating experience, so now, I actually feel pretty alive and empowered.”
Dr. Im says he hopes the truck can help reduce the social pressure that many people feel if they’re going to a hospital or interacting with personnel from mental health institutions.
“I think there are always more ways to bridge the gap between patients and professional help. And I want to stress that depression is a preventable disease. It doesn’t just happen in one day, and it is much easier to cope with if diagnosed early. I believe my truck can offer that kind of assistance.”
There are other attempts to transform the very act of counseling… into an act of play… in the form of food-art therapy.
“For many, the very process of entering therapy can be stressful and embarrassing, but food is something everyone will feel comfortable with regardless of age or background. Interacting with food helps people relieve social tensions, and essentially serves as a new channel of communication outside of language.”
The facilitator gives a theme that participants are then told to visualize,… based on common foods like vegetables, fruit and bread,… and the participants become painters and creators of their inner worlds and memories.
“I feel like feelings I had suppressed are being naturally expressed through food. Usually, counseling takes the form of an expert giving an answer *to me, but this really encourages me to look inside and come up with my own answers.”
Meanwhile, other experts stress that efforts to change perceptions about mental health services… must be accompanied by efforts to foster a mature and productive relationship between society and those who need help.
“The ongoing global trend is that even those with serious mental illnesses are not kept isolated at institutes for long periods of time, but rather, health services make it possible for them to return to their original communities and contribute to society. This is called ‘decentralization.’ But in Korea, we still try to exclude the mentally ill from others, so this is something that could be improved.”
In an attempt to raise awareness about mental illness, the government has promised to expand its public affairs campaign.
While it seems evident that experts are doing a lot of work to contribute to the effort, perhaps what is most important remains to be decided by ordinary people — that is, to accept that no one is perfect and admit that there is nothing wrong with asking for help.
Kim Jung-soo, Arirang News.
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1 Comment
It's true that those who seek mental health support are the brave ones because most don't have the courage to seek counselling, therapy, etc. For those who criticize someone for seeking help means they themselves don't have the courage and are projecting their own judgments of themselves onto that person seeking help because they are doing the thing the criticizer is insecure about. I wish Koreans all the best on their journeys to better mental health.