Some 30 percent of people who in the first half of this year sought assistance from the psychological treatment centre of the Women’s General Association of Macau (commonly known as Fu Luen in Cantonese) said that they had suicidal thoughts, and some even said that they had harmed themselves, Fu Luen representatives revealed at a press conference this week.
The percentage involved 99 people, 40 of them minors, the youngest an 8-year-old who self-harmed and a 10-year-old who had attempted suicide, according to the press conference.
The representatives made the remarks during a press conference on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Women’s General Association of Macau on Rua da Barca.
In the first half of this year, more than 90 percent of those who sought help from the centre were suffering emotional distress, while 80 percent were affected by different degrees of relationship problems, such as family problems, marital issues, interpersonal relationship problems and emotional issues, the representatives said, adding that the proportion of those who were affected by work and school pressure accounted for 13 and 15 percent of the total, respectively.
The representatives noted that in the first six months of this year the centre handled more than 3,300 cases and provided psychological counselling over 32,000 times, pointing out that the centre also arranged treatment for 908 help-seekers last year. Among them, 683 were new to the service, for whom 3,058 appointments for psychological counselling were arranged, the representatives added.
A total of 309 activities on raising public awareness of mental health were conducted by the centre last year with 14,910 people participating in the activities, the representatives noted, adding that in the first half of the year 104 activities were held with more than 2,402 people taking part, among which 58 community outreach sessions involving 1,082 participants.
The representatives also noted that compared to last year’s figures, the proportion of children and teenagers seeking help from the centre has risen from over 20 percent in 2020 to 30 percent in the first half of this year, believing that the increase was due to the centre’s Mental Health Education Promotion activities in schools.
The representatives also said that the centre will continue to provide individual psychotherapy services, including for emotional distress and various types of psychotherapy, adding that in terms of raising public awareness of mental health, more attention will be paid to destigmatising mental health problems, especially concerning families who include children with special needs.
Lao Chan Fong, a representative of the psychological treatment centre of the Women’s General Association of Macau (aka Fu Luen), talks to reporters on the sidelines of a press conference at Fu Luen’s headquarters on Rua da Barca on Wednesday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
