China Sends More Than 200 Mental-Health Specialists to Support Flood Rescuers

More than 200 mental-health specialists have been sent to Tibet to support rescuers and residents after flash floods and landslides devastated the Gyirong border area near Nepal.

He Lei, a psychological counselor with the medical and disease-control team of the PLA Tibet Military Command’s logistics department, returned to the disaster site on September 5 after a night of continuous rain in Gyirong county. She and her colleagues have been visiting bases and rescue zones to monitor soldiers’ mental states and teach them ways to manage stress.

Most soldiers can withstand the pressure and remain focused on rescue work, He said. But sustained operations in disaster conditions can produce acute reactions, including panic or physical rigidity. Specialists help affected personnel shift their attention temporarily away from the source of stress. One technique asks them to look at three nearby objects with specific characteristics, listen to different sounds, identify several smells and then perform a simple movement such as stamping their feet.

The team is also providing medical services to rescuers and affected residents, disinfecting key locations and monitoring health risks. Official figures said 726 PLA and People’s Armed Police personnel had joined search, rescue and relief operations by September 3, following the severe flash floods on August 26.

At a September 2 news conference, Tan Xiangdong, party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region Health Commission, said central and local health authorities had sent three teams of psychological-health specialists to the disaster zone, totaling more than 210 people. Rescuers are receiving psychological assessments, group or individual counseling, and manuals explaining how to recognize and respond to stress reactions.

“As soldiers, we cannot avoid difficult conditions. I want to be on the front line to see whether any soldiers need support and teach them techniques they can use themselves to control stress,” He said.

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As soldiers, we cannot avoid difficult conditions. I want to be on the front line to see whether any soldiers need support and teach them techniques they can use themselves to control stress.