By Hong Xue, Li Youtao and Guo Meng

NANSHA ISLANDS, April 17 -- On April 7, Jiang Chunlei, a psychology professor of the PLA Naval Medical University, set foot on the Yongshu Reef to provide mental health counseling for soldiers. Since then, the first batch of metal health service stations established by the PLA troops stationed on the Nansha Islands was put into operation, in a bid to provide professional and systematic mental health services for service members stationed on the islands and reefs.

The Nansha Islands is far away from the Chinese mainland. Despite improved living conditions in recent years, the garrisons always faced challenges and trials both physically and mentally due to arduous tasks and long-term combat readiness. Thus, such mental service stations are set up to help the officers and soldiers disperse loneliness and boost morale.

It is learnt that these stations are mainly built by the military hospitals on various Nansha Islands and reefs, each equipped with a counseling room, an anger-venting room, and a psychological evaluation and training room, etc. The staff includes professional psychologists and part-time counselors from the troops.

These stations have also established online liaison mechanisms with experts from the PLA Naval Medical University, the PLA Dalian Naval Academy, etc., to provide psychological evaluation, counseling, training, and other services through hotline and regular expert site visits.

It is said that during the current pandemic prevention and control period, a round of psychological evaluation and counseling has been fully carried out for all the military members stationed on the Nansha Islands.