Nowadays, mental health issues are a public concern, and the demand for psychological counseling is becoming increasingly large. With the growth of the market, problems such as vague fee standards, difficult to determine the qualifications of consultants, and mixed institutions have gradually emerged. While spending high prices, they are worried about being deceived, which is becoming another "heart disease" for psychological counseling consumers.
The price is expensive, and the qualifications are difficult to evaluate
"I spent a lot of money, but I didn't have professional counseling" "I came to ask for help, and the result was even more depressed"...... Searching for information related to psychological counseling, we can see that some consumers have reported their experience of being "deceived".
Banyuetan reporters learned that the price of psychological counseling is expensive, and market-oriented institutions charge from hundreds of yuan to thousands of yuan per hour, and they usually charge according to the whole course of treatment, and the cost of a course of treatment is as high as tens of thousands of yuan. "The money was spent, but it was difficult to confirm whether the counselor I was looking for was suitable. A consumer said.
Huajing Industry Research Institute reported that in the past 10 years, there have been more than 100,000 psychological counseling institutions in the country, and the average growth rate of new psychological institutions every year is more than 40%. It is understood that at present, there are two main types of psychological counseling services: one is medical institutions, but at present there are relatively limited hospitals that open psychological departments, and the other is social counseling institutions, which have appeared in large numbers in the market in recent years.
The person in charge of the student development center of a middle school in Fuzhou told the reporter that a student in the school once treated a student in the psychology department of a hospital, and the cost of a course of diagnosis and treatment amounted to more than 40,000 yuan, but the psychological problem was not improved. Later, it was learned that the psychology department of the hospital was outsourced. At present, the hospital has withdrawn from the business of psychological counseling due to illegal diagnosis and treatment.
Banyuetan reporters interviewed relevant platforms and found that there is a lack of clear standards for the pricing of psychological counseling. For example, the price of an agency in Hangzhou shows that the cost of face-to-face consultation to solve family problems such as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and divorce is 2,999 yuan per hour.
"Some institutions take advantage of consumers' psychology of 'rushing to the doctor', and many people think that the higher the fee, the higher the level of psychological counselors, but this is not the case. Meng Yingfang, chairman of the Fujian Provincial Psychological Association, said that the society has certain price guidance for member counselors, but it is difficult for counselors to explain the difference between hundreds of yuan and thousands of yuan of psychological counseling on the market.
Banyuetan reporters visited and found that there are still some institutions that "sell dog meat on the head of a sheep", saying that they are psychological counseling, but in fact they are blind date agencies, yoga studios, astrolabe fortune telling, etc.; there are also various treatment methods and propaganda methods, such as reiki massage, holographic therapy, aromatherapy, etc., and even "spirituality" in the name of psychological counseling, and some counselors' resumes say "learn from a certain master", but in fact, there is no way to verify their professional qualifications.
The market institutions are lively, and the public welfare consultation is sluggish
In 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security cancelled the national unified certification of national professional qualifications for psychological counselors.
"Social institutions have launched various certificates in various names, and there is no fixed entry threshold for the industry. Lin Xianhao, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Health College of Fujian Medical University, said. The person in charge of a psychological counseling company in Fuzhou said that it is easy to start a psychological counseling agency, and there is no need for a professional organization to review its professionalism.
Ms. Xu, the person in charge of a psychological counseling office in Gulou District, Fuzhou City, said that the psychological counselors affiliated with her studio can set their own prices. Ms. Cheng, a consumer, told the Banyuetan reporter that she encountered arbitrary charges for psychological counseling, but there was no way to complain due to the lack of relevant industry standards.
According to industry insiders, only about 10%~20% of the psychological counselors who have received undergraduate professional education are currently available, and most of them are trained by social institutions.
Lin Xianhao introduced that public hospitals implement inclusive pricing, such as most of the top three public hospitals in Fujian Province are priced at 80 yuan per hour, which is difficult to cover the costs of therapists' salaries and equipment loss, and hospitals also tend to reduce related psychological counseling services. "There are long queues for patient appointments, and some even wait half a year for a consultation. ”
At present, there is a large demand for psychological counseling in society, and public welfare psychological counseling service hotlines have been opened in various places. According to the Banyuetan reporter, due to the limited funds and manpower, some hotlines are difficult to survive. The staff of the 12355 youth psychological hotline in Fujian Province told the Banyuetan reporter that the hotline has a large workload, and the monthly salary of full-time psychological counselors is only more than 3,000 yuan, which is a huge gap with market institutions.
Create conditions for the inclusion of psychological diagnosis and treatment in medical insurance
When psychological problems arise, counseling is seen as a "lifesaver". Industry experts believe that psychological counseling provides stable psychological support for clients and helps them eventually have the ability to solve their own psychological problems, which is difficult to replace with drugs. Lin Lihua, a professor at the School of Health Sciences of Fujian Medical University, believes that psychological counselors need to go through professional education and professional training and accumulate enough cases and hours, otherwise it may cause secondary psychological harm to counselors.
At present, some regions have issued corresponding mental health regulations, such as the relevant regulations of Jiangsu Province, which stipulate that the health departments shall strengthen the operational guidance, supervision and management of psychological counseling services, and regulate psychological counseling activities.
Industry insiders suggest that to regulate the psychological counseling market, it is necessary to consolidate the responsibilities of departments such as health, industry and commerce, and market supervision, and implement a psychological counseling whitelist mechanism. Lin Xianhao, Lin Lihua and others suggested that a unified national standard for the access, professional training, professional qualifications, and professional ethics of psychological counseling professionals should be introduced as soon as possible, and the training system for psychological counseling professionals should be improved.
Li Ranming, general manager of Fujian Zhongyitai Psychological Counseling Co., Ltd., suggested that professional qualifications, educational qualifications, number of individual hours, personal experience, supervision hours, and years of experience should be used as evaluation indicators, and different score ranges should correspond to different counseling fees, so as to promote the openness, transparency, and standardization of psychological counseling fees.
The reporter noticed that Jiangsu, Zhuhai, Guangdong, Haidian, Beijing and other places took the lead in trying to introduce relevant policies or solicit social opinions to explore the inclusion of mental illness treatment costs in medical insurance. However, some experts pointed out that there is a lack of unified standards for the definition and treatment process of psychological counseling, and it is difficult to form a scientific and standardized diagnosis and treatment process, so it is necessary to standardize the relevant process standards as soon as possible, establish a reasonable reimbursement catalog and reimbursement ratio, and gradually explore the inclusion of psychological diagnosis and treatment in medical insurance to reduce the burden on patients.
Half Moon Talk Reporter: Deng Qianqian / Editor: Sun Wenhao
*This article is the content of the 6th issue of "Half Moon Talk" in 2024