A UM professional team works with the government to provide psychological counselling during the epidemic period
As the novel coronavirus epidemic continues to develop, the University of Macau (UM) starting today will assign a nine-member professional psychological counselling team to work with the Macao SAR government and provide mental health support for those affected. The team comprises three professors of psychiatry and clinical psychology, as well as six professional psychotherapists and counsellors from the university’s Psychological Counselling Centre.
UM aims to root itself in Macao to build and serve the local community. The experts and scholars in the team have attained fruitful achievements and rich practical experience in related research field. Some of them have participated in disaster relief and have offered psychological counselling to those affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Beijing, Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province, and Typhoon Hato in Macao, as well as victims of natural disasters in Japan, the United States, and Pakistan. UM has been ranked among the top in the world in terms of teaching and research in related fields, with a ranking of No 97 in Psychology in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 by subject. The university is also among the top 1% in Essential Sciences Indicators (ESI) rankings in Clinical Medicine.
The team of psychology professionals from UM will work with the Social Welfare Bureau of Macao SAR and will offer service starting today. They will first provide psychological counselling to those being quarantined at Pousada Marina Infante, via telephone, online messages, as well as other audio and video technology, to help them cope with emotional stress. In addition, the team will provide mental health support and hold information sessions for those working at the quarantine location.
For more information about UM’s Psychological Counselling Centre, please subscribe to its WeChat public account: UMcounselling.