Six thousand persons between the ages of 15 and 30 will receive three free psychological consultations as part of the "youth mental health support program" that the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced on August 1. 4,686 individuals have used this service to obtain psychiatric treatment in just three weeks, which is about 80% of the allotted quota. Currently, there is a deficit of funding as well as a shortage of appointments in four counties and cities, including Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Yilan. According to the Minister of Health and Welfare (薛瑞元), he will publish a new plan to expand the number of slots and raise the funding in mid-September.
Read more: MOHW is developing a youth mental health support program to assist youth in overcoming depression
Ministry of Health and Welfare to increase budgets to its Youth Mental Health Support Program.Photo provided by MOHW
The MOHW emphasized that this was both the first major consultation effort in Asia and in Taiwan. Statistics from the MOHW show that as of August 21, 4,686 individuals had utilized it. Three times as many women utilize these services as men do, and 30% of these cases include high-risk individuals who require referral.
According to MOHW, the goal of promoting this program is to motivate young people who have psychological problems to ask for help, comprehend, and effectively utilize psychological therapy. As a result of the high level of interest that young people have in utilizing this solution, MOHW will keep doing an overall resource inventory and assessment and making ongoing adjustments depending on actual requirements.
