Hello, this is the '12356' psychological assistance hotline. May I help you? "" I heard you crying, what exactly happened? "... On the morning of May 8th, in an office at Beijing Anding Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, the gentle voice of hotline counselor Zhang Yongxi kept coming. This is one of the offices of the "12356" psychological assistance hotline. According to the deployment of the National Health Commission, as of midnight on May 1, 2025, all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in China have opened the "12356" psychological assistance hotline. I have a conflict with my family and don't know what to do. ”Facing graduation soon, my thesis and job search have brought me a lot of pressure. ”I feel anxious every day and can't sleep at night. ”Cui Sipeng, the manager of the psychological assistance hotline at Beijing Anding Hospital and the director of the Beijing Mental Health Center Office, introduced that the hospital is responsible for one line during the day and two lines at night, providing 24-hour service. It receives about 40 calls for help every day, with each call lasting about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The content of the help mainly includes family, emotional, anxiety and depression issues. I once received a help seeker who had symptoms of panic attacks. I guided him to relax, helped him adjust symptoms such as hand tremors, shortness of breath, and suffocation, and confirmed that someone could take care of him. ”Hotline counselor Chen Xin recalled that at the end of the call, the person seeking help's emotions calmed down, which also gave her a sense of achievement. Every phone call must strive to light up a lighthouse for those who are in an emotional abyss in a short period of time, which puts higher demands on hotline counselors. On the hospital display board, the reporter saw that there are clear regulations on the hotline answering process, ethical rules, confidentiality system, and work path for dealing with high-risk callers. The hotline counselors are mainly composed of psychotherapists, psychiatrists with psychological backgrounds, and personnel specialized in psychological work, and will receive professional training before taking up their posts. ”Cui Sipeng introduced that when receiving a call, the hotline counselor will first conduct a risk assessment to determine whether the person seeking help has a tendency towards self harm or suicide, and listen and empathize to strengthen their motivation for survival. For high-risk situations, we will call the emergency hotline to ensure the personal safety of those seeking help. The power of professionalism is expanding. Gansu Province has established a provincial management platform for the "12356" psychological assistance hotline; Zigong City, Sichuan Province has established a "12356" psychological assistance hotline and a multi departmental collaborative emergency response mechanism for psychological emergencies; Tianjin has rapidly improved the effectiveness of psychological assistance through the "Hotline Alliance"... According to data from the National Health Commission, there are currently more than 500 hotlines, over 1000 seats, and nearly 8000 hotline counselors across the country, providing the public with an accessible and standardized way to seek help. Xing Ruoqi, Deputy Director of the Medical Administration Department of the National Health Commission, stated that in the future, we will continuously improve institutional requirements such as venue construction, personnel allocation, and technical specifications, and build an information platform. The number of hotline calls is showing explosive growth. Experts suggest that hotlines are suitable for emotional counseling and short-term emotional support in emergency situations. For long-term psychological problems, offline medical treatment is also needed for long-term counseling and treatment. No one is an island. When the hotline rings repeatedly, the sunshine shines into more helpless corners. (New Society)