BJ Teens Help Design Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Online Club

Since 2015, Beijing-based mental health organization CandleX has been offering to English-speaking teenagers and adults living in Beijing. Designed to fill the gap in mental health support and resources for Western expats that founder Xiaojie Qin, herself an English speaking Chinese national identified, it has grown to include a wide range of ongoing projects, workshops, and acts as a bridge between the community and mental health resources.

Now, CandleX is gearing up for their CBT Online Course Club, an online course Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) online course to run between Jul 15 and Aug 31.  CBT is a research and evidence-based form of psychotherapy which has shown to be effective for many chronic, recurring, and challenging mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and trauma. Some of the techniques that it teaches include relaxation, coping, resilience, stress management, and assertiveness, and this course is designed to help participants improve their understanding of, and gain coping skills for depression and anxiety with evidence-based treatment.

“We’re really excited about the course, we finally found one that is free” Qin explains “the course is offered via Future Learn, and the course is run by the University of Reading”. While the course itself is free, by signing up via CandleX and paying RMB 100 (or RMB 50 for students and those who make less than RMB 8,000/month) participants gain access to a variety of supplementary local resources such as a daily WeChat group chat with expat registered counselor Katie McLeod, to support and discuss each step of the course; a live weekly Webinar with registered counselor Melena Slaven; an end of program webinar with a clinical psychologist from an international hospital; and (restrictions permitting) a learners dinner at the end to recap and reflect on the experience. As Qin puts it “we’re not going to be able to replace all offline aspects, so it’s important to create some face-to-face moments when possible.”

The course is available to all ages, but CandleX has specifically included a school-aged teen on the planning board, to ensure that the entire process is appealing to teenagers and sensitive to their needs. Indeed, CandleX has been ramping up their youth engagement in the last two years, including by launching their very successful ‘Open Letter’ series (originally called Letters to my Parents) back in February. According to Qin, the window between 14 and 25 is the typical onset age for mental illness, which makes it critically important to offer interventions and support at this time.

For more information or to sign up for the course,  click here.

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Images: beijing kids (via Canva), giphy

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