Psychological clinics, still rarely seen by ordinary Chinese
citizens, have made their entry into Chinese prisons.
A
report recently released by the Ministry of Justice showed that
psychological counseling has been conducted in more than 60 percent
of Chinese prisons, and in places like Beijing, Shanghai and
Zhejiang, psychological clinics have been set up to help reduce the
mental problems of inmates.
In
a prison of Hangzhou, capital of east China's coastal Zhejiang
Province, prisoners seeking psychotherapy can first vent their rage
in an abreaction room by hitting a hanging sandbag and then go to
another consultation room to talk with psychologists about their
problems.
The clinic is open to prisoners at the end of every month and those
seeking treatment can either put forward their requests by
themselves or be recommended by the prison police.
Chen Zhiyu, a local psychologist, pointed out that compared with
ordinary people, criminals are easier to get excited and become
violent, so the abreaction room is set up to relieve their
stress.
In
1989, the Ministry of Justice first introduced the idea of
psychological treatment into criminal reeducation. According to Luo
Dahua, an expert from the China University of Political Science and
Law, two decades of practice have shown the treatment to be an
effective way of reeducating criminals.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2002)