Gyeonggi Province develops program to strengthen psychological immunity; free service starts this month

◇ Gyeonggi Province has developed a program to strengthen the psychological immunity of its residents. Free program service started this month. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Gyeonggi Province has developed a program to strengthen the ‘psychological immunity’ of its residents. Free program service started this month.

On November 4, Gyeonggi Province announced that it has begun ‘SPRING’, a psychological immunity program to support the mental recovery of its residents from a wide range of stressful situations including various disasters, accidents, and infectious diseases. It’s the first program of its kind to be offered by a municipal government.  

The provincial government official explained that the service was inspired by the MERS outbreak that occurred in the nation in June, and it was developed in order to help Gyeonggi residents heal and recover from anxiety and distress.

SPRING is a free online psychological program available to all Gyeonggi residents affected by infectious diseases, disasters, accidents, and stress. The service can be accessed via its official website (www.g-mind.or.kr).

The name SPRING was inspired by the recoverability of coiled springs which possess the capacity to return to their normal state or become better than before even if they suffer from sudden hardships like disasters. 

The program was designed to faster ‘Resilience’, an element that allows people to discover the strength they possess in their character and to tackle stressful situations using their own powers in an easy and enjoyable manner. 

The program measures character strengths and positive resources through a tournament-type test. Users can create their own life-graphs or share their feelings with people around them. Through these activities, users can understand the positive resources they possess in a new light and strengthen them. 

Gyeonggi Province will host a wide range of open events to promote the program such as handing out mobile gift cards for dining and coffee as well as ‘healing bags’ containing blankets and diffusers. 

A provincial government official explained, “You can respond immediately in an active way even in unexpected emergency situations such as disasters if you increase your psychological immunity.” The official added, “This program holds significance because it’s our first online attempt to improve the mental health of Gyeonggi people.”

Apart from the online psychological program, Gyeonggi residents are also encouraged to use the psychological counselling service 24 hours a day by calling the mental health hotline (1577-0199) should they need help from a professional counsellor. Additionally, they can receive psychological counselling or use the program by visiting Mental Health Promotion Centers operated by each city and county. 

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Roh Gyung-hee khrohh@kg21.net 

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201511041020577055C048&s_code=C048