In the end, only visitors themselves can fully solve their problems, and the same is true for psychiatrists, she added.
Being tolerant, both to visitors and to themselves, is an essential quality for psychiatrists. A good psychiatrist won't give visitors the impression he knows everything and can solve every difficulty.
"Acknowledging they don't know something, frankly and naturally, works much better than knowing all and is beneficial to visitors," said Ou.
Value of experience
Lin calls himself a psychiatric supervisor, but admits that he is not recognized as one according to the newly released Mental Health Law, since he does not meet certain criteria.
Under the law, psychiatrist supervisors can only become certified after meeting certain standards which list clearly how many cases they have had as supervisors to other psychiatrists, how many hours of training they have received, and how many times they themselves have been supervised by others.
Besides "curing" visitors, psychiatrists need to further study and carry out research. They also need to constantly work with each other to obtain a deeper understanding of themselves, which is essential to developing their abilities.
"When it comes to handling individual cases, it's what we've realized through talking to each other that helps us work," Zhou said, adding that she does this once a week.
She also attends three academic groups every week. In one group, psychiatrists with the same level of experience work as supervisors for each other.
During the process of being supervised, the relationship between psychiatrist and visitor is presented very clearly, which then helps psychiatrists come to understand the problems they may have in dealing with their visitors, according to Zhou.
Psychiatrists visiting other psychiatrists as patients and discharging negative emotions are both part of the healing process, according to Lin.
He said a psychiatrist needs about 500 to 1,000 such sessions before he reaches the highest level. "The frequency of this experience differs among different psychology schools. Typically, psychiatrists have this kind of session once a week," said Lin, adding that some practice as many as four times a week.
He holds the opinion that any qualified psychiatrist can serve as a supervisor for other psychiatrists, but he emphasizes that this is just his opinion.
"A supervisor is someone who offers suggestions. He lends his feelings to other psychiatrists and helps them analyze cases," said Lin.
A bright future
Both Ou and Lin think that there is much room for the industry to develop in China.
Health insurance in some countries covers the costs of visiting psychiatrists, but this is not the case in China. "Only when health insurance covers this field will the industry develop normally, and psychiatrists can have a stable income," he proposed.
Lin believes that as the economy continues its rapid development, people will pay more attention to their mental health. By that stage, people will talk to psychiatrists before they start to suffer serious mental problems. "This gives an opportunity to psychiatrists, and also for psychiatric supervisors," he said.
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