A total of 361 free psychological assistance hotlines had been put into place by public mental health institutions across China by the end of January to provide professional psychological assistance for the public amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, a psychologist said Monday.
Chen Xuefeng, with the Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told a press conference that the epidemic has given people different levels of psychological stress reactions.
Chen advised the public to take the initiative to seek psychological assistance if necessary so as to alleviate psychological distress caused by the epidemic and prevent the occurrence of extreme events.
