Children's mental health consultation phone number

1. National public welfare hotline: 12355 (The Youth Help Desk of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League is open 24/7 and has a dedicated youth psychological intervention hotline, which can simultaneously connect with legal aid, campus dispute coordination and other services, completely free of charge)

2. National psychological assistance hotline database: You can log on to the official website of the National Health Commission to check the local mental health hotline specifically for children. Most of them are open 24 hours a day. The operators have professional backgrounds in mental health and can handle sudden crises such as emotional breakdown and self-injury risks.

3. Public welfare hotline of the registration system of the Chinese Psychological Association: 400-161-9995, extension 3 (special line for children and adolescents, callers are psychologists/supervisors certified by the registration system, service hours are 9:00-21:00 every day)

4. Exclusive hotlines for key cities: Beijing 010-82951332 (Beijing Psychological Crisis Research and Intervention Center children’s hotline), Shanghai 021-12320-5 (Shanghai Psychological Assistance Hotline children’s area), Guangzhou 020-81899120 (Guangzhou Psychological Crisis Intervention Center youth hotline)

I have been working as a children's social worker in the community for six years, and I have received no less than 300 wrong calls for help. Many parents were so anxious that their voices were shaking. They browsed the advertising links on the Internet for half an hour, and then called someone who either sold attention courses or a commercial consulting agency that only took adult cases. It was a waste of time. Last month, a mother from Hangzhou came to her at 1 a.m. and said that her son, who is in fourth grade, had locked himself on the balcony and left a note saying, "There is no point in living." She tried three times but couldn't get through. In the end, I helped her call the local 12355. The operator chatted with her child for more than 40 minutes and finally opened the door.

Interestingly, there have been two different views on the positioning of this type of hotline within the industry. One group prefers "crisis priority" and believes that the greatest value of the hotline is to keep the hotline safe. Last year, a 10-year-old boy in Suzhou was publicly criticized by his teacher for cheating on an exam. He dialed 12355 on his way to school and said he wanted to jump while standing on an overpass. The operator stabilized his emotions while simultaneously contacting the police and his parents in the jurisdiction. When they arrived, half of the child's body was already leaning out, which almost caused a serious accident. Practitioners of this school feel that even if most people call and ask seemingly trivial questions such as "What should I do if my child doesn't like to talk recently?", as long as extreme risks can be nipped in the bud, this hotline has meaning.

The other group's view is much more pragmatic. Many child psychiatrists I have contacted hold this attitude: the hotline can only provide "emotional first aid" at best, just like if you accidentally cut your hand, use a band-aid to stop the bleeding first. Even if you have symptoms of self-injury or sleep disorders, don’t expect to be cured by just two phone calls. You must go to an offline child psychiatry clinic for evaluation, consultation when needed, and medication when needed. Treating the hotline as a “special medicine” will delay the child’s intervention opportunity.

Oh, by the way, there are actually some tips for making such calls. I usually give a few words in advance to parents who come to ask for help. Don’t cry as soon as you get through, clarify the most urgent information first: Is there any risk of self-harm? Is the child alone now? How long did the symptoms last? Are there any sudden triggers? Operators answer dozens of calls every day. If you put the core information first, they can give you the fastest solution. Also, don’t scare your child by saying, “I’m going to call the counselor right now to tell you that you’re disobedient.” I met a child a while ago who was originally a little afraid of going to school. His father told him this twice, so he locked himself in his room for half a month and refused to go out. He felt that he was a “bad boy with mental illness,” which blocked all communication channels.

To be honest, I have seen too many parents. When their children usually say "I don't want to go to school" or "I feel bad", they think the child is being pretentious and trying to be lazy. Until there are dense marks on the child's arms, they panic and look for help. In fact, these hotlines are never meant to be called only when something serious happens. If you are not sure whether there is something wrong with your child's recent avoidance of playing on his mobile phone or whether it is okay if he always complains of headaches but can't find anything wrong when he goes to the hospital, you can call them and ask. There is no shame in it. Just like when a child has a fever, you would first take a thermometer to check the temperature. If you have any questions, it is normal to talk to a professional.

By the way, if you call and find that the line is busy, don’t worry. Wait for another two minutes. The operator may be talking to another child standing by the overpass. They want to pick up every child who asks for help more quickly than you do.