What department does psychological consultation belong to?

Generally speaking, if you go to a public medical institution for psychological counseling, you should give priority to psychiatry and clinical psychology departments. Some hospitals have separate psychological counseling clinics and psychosomatic medicine departments that are also suitable for symptoms. If you are looking for a formal social psychological counseling institution, you do not need to go through the hospital registration process. Just confirm the counselor's qualifications and appointment time with the institution in advance.

When I was rotating in the outpatient clinic, I met several patients who were admitted to the wrong hospital. There was a young man who had just worked for half a year and was admitted to the cardiology department for the first time because of chest tightness and depression after working overtime continuously. After a round of electrocardiograms and cardiac enzymes were all normal, the doctor asked him to transfer to the psychology department. It took him a whole morning to find the right place. There were also parents who had children who were tired of studying and were admitted to the pediatric department, and couples who had marital conflicts were admitted to the gynecology and men's department. In fact, similar detours can be avoided completely.

In fact, many people are confused about the differences between departments. The main reason is that the department settings of different hospitals are indeed different. Before you register, you can check the department profile of the hospital's official account. As long as it mentions that it can undertake services such as emotional distress, psychological problem assessment, parent-child/marriage consultation, no matter what the name is, you can basically get registered. Don’t be discouraged when you see the word “psychiatry.” Many people think that going to a psychiatry department is to see a “crazy person.” This is really a big prejudice. Among the patients admitted to public psychiatric departments now, 60 to 70% have common psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and adjustment disorders, which are completely different from the severe mental illness in public perception.

Nowadays, many people are confused about whether to go to the hospital or to find social institutions. In fact, there are people who have preferences for the two options: Some people think that doctors in the hospital have the right to prescribe and can make professional disease diagnosis, which is more credible. If your problem has been accompanied by obvious physical reactions, such as insomnia and increased appetite for more than two consecutive weeks. If you have a sudden fall or have thoughts of self-harm, you must first go to the hospital to register to check whether drug intervention is needed. However, the outpatient clinics of public hospitals are under great pressure, and most consultations in ordinary hospitals only last 10 to 15 minutes. It is difficult to carry out long-term conversation consultations. Many patients who need regular consultations every week will feel that this is not enough.； Some people prefer counselors from social institutions. A single consultation usually lasts about 50 minutes and can help you sort out the problem in more detail. If it is just daily emotional distress, such as workplace infighting, poor parent-child communication, problems with marriage and love relationships, and there is no obvious pathological reaction, it is indeed appropriate to choose a formal institution. However, it should be noted that the counselors in the institution do not have the right to prescribe. If during the conversation it is discovered that there may be pathological tendencies, you still need to be referred to the hospital for treatment.

In fact, seeking psychological counseling is like repairing a mobile phone. If the software is stuck and you want to clear the memory, you can find a reliable repair shop. If the motherboard is burned out and the phone cannot be turned on, you must go to the official after-sales service and go through the formal inspection and repair process. You can choose according to your own situation. If you are looking for psychological counseling for minors, many hospitals have specially opened child and adolescent psychology outpatient clinics. This will be more relevant. Doctors are more familiar with the laws of children's psychological development and can communicate more smoothly.