A Sino-American Mental Health Education conference and training seminars began on the morning of November 9, sponsored by Sias International University and Southwest Behavioral & Health Services, in the auditorium of the New Sias Library.
The chief guests and speakers at the two-day conference were the Chief of Clinical Services & Clinical Training at Southwest Behavioral & Health Services, Dr. Bob Bohanske; the Director of The Heart and Soul of Change Project, world-renowned therapist and researcher, Dr. Barry L. Duncan; the Director of the Ideological and Political Division at Henan Province's Department of Education, Li Peijun; the Director of Psychological Counseling at the Chinese Psychological Society, and Director of the Mental Health Education Counseling Center at Chongqing University, Wang Hao; and the Director of the Chinese Psychological Society, and the Head of the Department of Medical Psychology at Shaanxi People's Hospital, Zhang Tianbu. Dr. Duncan collaborated with Zhang Tianbu in cross-cultural research that involved the participation of more than 120 mental health educators from over 40 universities and institutes across China. Four reports of Sino-American psychological research were presented at the Conference.
Sias President, Dr. Chen Sikun, and the Director of the Ideological and Political Division at Henan Province's Department of Education, Li Peijun, delivered the opening speeches. Dr. Chen spoke about the development of mental health education at Sias. Li Beijun stressed the importance of mental health education in colleges and universities and said that he hoped that Sias would continue to educate students and teachers about the importance of mental health. He also encouraged research exchanges and education in mental health that would benefit people in Henan. At the opening ceremony, Dr. Chen Sikun presented Dr. Bob Bohanske, Dr. Barry Duncan, and Wang Hao with Honorary Letters of Appointment to be visiting professors at Sias.
The Director of Psychological Counseling at the Chinese Psychological Society, and Director of the Mental Health Education Counseling Center at Chongqing University, Wang Hao, presented a research paper titled, 'Guidelines for Psychological Crisis Intervention'. In the research paper, she gave a detailed description of how to quickly and accurately identify psychological crises, communication skills for psychological crisis intervention, and how to effectively deal with psychological crises.
On the afternoon of November 9, Dr. Bohanske presented research on crisis prevention. The research focused on how to understand the formation of crises from the perspective of Balance Theory, and how to effectively prevent crises in advance. The research presentation was aimed at educating participants with regard to crisis prevention so that they had a well-rounded grasp of the topic.
Later, members of the Psychological Counseling at the Chinese Psychological Society conducted a seminar on the prevention and intervention of psychological crises of university students. The seminar also covered topics such as teaching methods for mental health education in the classroom, the application, and effect of different schools and theories in psychological counseling, the referral and treatment of psychological disorders, and psychological surveys of freshmen students. Dr. Bohanske introduced the methods and practices used in the United States, while others shared their experiences from their respective institutions and universities. There were a series of discussions that even included opposing views and practices of the participants.
On the 10th, Dr. Barry L. Duncan presented research on the application of collaborative change management in psychological counseling. His research emphasized the effectiveness of evaluation for improving psychological counseling, and how educators in the field should use the system to improve the effectiveness of psychological counseling.
Later, the Director of the Chinese Psychological Society, and the Head of the Department of Medical Psychology at Shaanxi People's Hospital, Zhang Tianbu, presented research on psychodynamic psychotherapy and counseling. His research explained the classification of psychological disorders through psychological pathology. It also focused on the use of psychoanalysis to understand common anxiety and unhealthy defense mechanisms among university students and gave specific guidance for the evaluation of students' mental health education.
The closing ceremony was held on the afternoon of November 10. Sias Party Secretary, Fei Hexiang, praised the organization of the Conference and thanked the guests and speakers on behalf of Sias. He said that this conference would help Sias improve and guide its mental health education.
Sias International University will use this conference to grow and improve the mental health education at the university. The conference also builds on Sino-foreign cooperation at Sias, using this platform to reach out to other colleges and universities across Henan and aid them in their improvement of mental health education.
