Chen Yuan, a junior university student, felt particularly lonely and quite depressed after her boyfriend left her. Though she has visited many places throughout China, Chen decided to join the psychotherapy tour group once she knew that psychologists would also be taking part in the expedition.

“This is first time I have traveled without friends or family. On the first day, I barely even greeted the others. On the second day, when we climbed the Shimenjian Mountain, we all started to get to know one another. By the fourth day, we looked as if we were all brothers and sisters from one big happy family.” Chen said.

“I lost confidence in love after I fell out with my boyfriend. I was afraid of talking about love and my emotions.

“The trip would actually take us through Jindezhen, the town where my former boyfriend is now studying. Initially I wanted to go and see him again, but eventually the idea just dissolved in the cheers of delight as we arrived in the town.”

“I almost cried out loud when we had to go our separate ways after the seven-day tour. I managed controlled myself, but still I wanted to cry when I got back home. In the end, I managed to calm myself down by counting over 300 buses on the street, a relaxation method shown to us by a psychologist on the tour.”

“I began to take the initiative of meeting new boys after the trip.” Chen said.

Suicidal white collar lady: life can be great

Li Yang, a white collar worker, now works for a foreign-funded firm after having graduated from an overseas university. She still looks mildly depressed. “My complexion is better now, especially when compared with the days leading up to the National Holiday.” Li said, “Somebody told me that I looked awful at that time.”

She said that she had dressed in black when she first joined the tour group.

“I had decided to commit suicide, long before joining the psychotherapy tour group. I had thought out a detailed plan including how to end life and how to inform my friends.” Li now seemed mildly embarrassed while discussing her irrational ideas.

The thought of a seven day holiday was terrifying to Li. Sleepless nights, headaches, and paralysis made her feel that life had lost all meaning. No family, nor friends to be with. “Going outside to look for some delights, the idea turned on me.” Li said.

“My parents have been quarrelling since as long as I can remember. My father often beat my brother and me when he was unhappy. I hope that my father will apologize to us some day.”

“I had been suffering from insomnia since 1986. I went to see psychologists, and even sought medical help when I was studying abroad. But to no avail.”

“The trip helped us let go completely. I felt like I had returned to my childhood. We rowed down rivers and sang many old songs like ‘A Small Raft’ and ‘Let’s Row the Two Oars’. I have never felt myself so relaxed. I began to realize that life can be great.”

“I have been to see several psychologists since I came back. I no longer feel that people around me are hateful. I have started to genuinely smile. I have made some new friends on this trip and wish to make more.”

IT manager: I will invite psychologists to give lectures to my colleagues

Xia Min, an information technology (IT) manager, joined the group only because she wanted to discover some interesting places and rest. She was deeply moved by what she saw and heard on the tour.

“I do not have any symptoms myself. What I thought most about were my colleagues. For instance, some of them often carry out their work with low morale. What causes such a condition? It is salary, or is it emotion? Once I gain some psychological understanding, I hope to help them release some of their pressures so as to make our team more stable and united. I will invite the psychologists to give lectures to my colleagues someday in an effort to improve the atmosphere at work.”

A father who tore up daughter’s test paper now knows how to befriend her

Meng Fei, a company manager, once tore his daughter’s math test paper into tiny pieces because of her poor performance.

“She cried in anguish. I felt sorry for what I had done and eventually apologized to her, but later I found that the apology did nothing to mend her grief. Everyone says that my daughter is scared of me. I think it is because I am too hard on her.”

“We could only take part in the psychotherapy tour for a few days. My daughter almost broke down in tears when we had to leave the group. Since then, I now know how to be friends with my daughter.”

Meng said, “When I got home I made a resolution to spend more time with my daughter chatting and exchanging views.”

Tourist guide: I was deeply moved

Guo Yuechen, conference department manager of Beijing Lily Tourist Agency, participated as tour guide on the psychotherapy tour. “This group was totally different from others I have met. I really was totally absorbed by the group and really became one of their members.” Guo said.

“On two occasions I was really moved by the tourists and psychologists.” he said. “The first time was when we had supper at the Century Old House. A journalist who wanted to interview the group didn’t arrive on time. We could not contact him because his cell phone was out of range. We waited for him for over an hour before we decided to set aside his portion and start to eat. My experiences tell me that most tourists seldom consider others at the table. But these tourists were different. The second time was on the way back. All the tourists were talking about life issues like emotions and love. Unexpectedly, one of my colleagues poured out his heart. He said that he could not stop himself from counting the speakers at home otherwise he would begin to feel rather anxious. Guided by the psychologists, he learned how to adjust his behavior.”

Experts: psychological treatments should go out of hospitals

Yang Xian, associate professor at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital and also one of the organizers of the psychotherapy tours, said 19 tourists took part in the trip to Maoyuan, Jiangxi Province. Most of them feel the trip has helped them deal with, or at least ease, some of their psychological problems. These results are much more promising than compared with just going to see a doctor at the hospital.

“In fact, very few people with psychological problems even go to see doctors. Most patients find it hard to admit they have psychological problems. Moreover, Chinese psychological consultations only started in the 1980’s, so treatments are not developed enough to meet the needs of many patients.

“I used to wait to see patients in consulting rooms. The psychotherapy tour group brought me out of hospitals for the first time. We spent over one month deciding on the best route. All the arrangements, such as where to go, what lectures should be given and how to encourage tourists to exchange views, were all carefully thought out in advance. The result was beyond my imagination. All the tourists sought treatment with ease. To some degree, the psychotherapy tour group has pushed psychological consultation and treatment out into the open.” Yang said.

“Different forms of psychotherapy tour groups will appear in the future,” Yang revealed, “The tours will be held at different times, such as on weekends, rather than during long holiday periods.”

16 million suffer from mental illness

Since the 1980’s, mental illness has been on the increase in China. Currently, over 16 million people are thought to suffer from psychosis and 26 million suffer from depression.

Among 340 million children under the age of 17, 30 million are believed to suffer from psychological problems.

Psychological consultation and treatment is proving to be indispensable to China.

(china.org.cn by Unisumoon October 28, 2002)