Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Psychology in China grassroots hospital: roles and challenges

• Published in: Discover Social Science and Health
• Main Author: Han Y.S.; Chen X.W.; Saw J.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85213969202&doi=10.1007%2fs44155-024-00143-8&partnerID=40&md5=81aa5aea3b5d7092d9e1582a59c15202

This article aims to explore the role and challenges of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Psychology in grassroots hospitals in China. This paper began by providing background information on Chinese medical psychology and defining the concept of TCM Psychology. Subsequently, it reviewed the developmental history of TCM Psychology, and discussed the role of TCM Psychology in grassroots hospitals. Building upon this foundation, the paper analyzed the challenges faced by TCM Psychology in grassroots hospitals in China. These challenges included mental health stigma that acted as a barrier for health/help seeking, low awareness regarding the role or effectiveness of integrated medicine in mental health treatment, the limitation of single treatment methods in guaranteeing long-term therapeutic effects, and the challenge of varying educational backgrounds among physicians in primary medical and health care institution, leading to different understandings of mental illness. These challenges not only affected the efficiency of TCM Psychomedicine, but also had negative implications for the mental health of grassroots patients. Therefore, this paper calls for increased support and training for TCM Psychology, as well as enhanced promotion of integrated medicine in mental health treatment, to enhance their role and effectiveness in grassroots hospitals services. © The Author(s) 2024.