Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia (26 March 2026) As mental health challenges continue to rise globally, the need for
well-trained professionals, accessible services, and scalable solutions has
become increasingly urgent. In Asia, this gap is particularly pronounced, where
demand for mental health support is growing faster than the systems designed to
meet it.
Recent data
highlights the scale of the issue. In China, lifetime prevalence rates for
mental health conditions remain significant, including anxiety (7.6%),
depression (6.8%), and dementia (5.6%). The number of potentially mentally ill
adults has increased steadily over the past decades, reaching approximately 240
million in 2024.
However, access
to care remains limited. Only 9.5% of individuals in China who require mental
health support seek or receive treatment, compared to 19% in
upper-middle-income countries and 70% in high-income countries. This gap is
further compounded by a shortage of trained professionals, with just 3.5
psychiatrists per 100,000 population — a figure significantly lower than
countries such as Japan (11.9) and the United States (45).
These
challenges are not unique to China but reflect broader regional trends,
including low awareness of mental health conditions, persistent social stigma,
and a mismatch between supply and demand of qualified practitioners.
In response to
these growing needs, HELP University has partnered with Good Mood, a
technology-driven digital mental health group based in China, to strengthen
mental health education and professional counselling training across the
region.
Rather than
focusing solely on service delivery, the collaboration places education and
capacity-building at its core. The initiative will focus on developing the next
generation of mental health professionals through academic programmes,
structured counselling training, and skills development for psychological
service providers, alongside opportunities for international academic exchange.
A key component
of the collaboration involves the joint development of professional upskilling
programmes tailored for medical and mental health practitioners. These
programmes will cover essential competencies such as active listening, crisis
counselling, grief support, and mental health management. Designed across
multiple tiers, the training will integrate online learning, AI-enabled tools,
and assessment frameworks to ensure both accessibility and quality.
By combining
HELP University’s academic expertise in psychology and counselling with Good
Mood’s large-scale digital platform, the collaboration seeks to bridge the gap
between theory and practice, while expanding access to mental health education
in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
Good Mood
currently operates one of the largest integrated digital mental health
platforms in China, with a network of approximately 70,000 psychiatrists and
neurologists and over 13 million registered users as of 2025. The platform
facilitates more than 3 million online service visits annually, underscoring
the growing role of digital technologies in addressing gaps in mental
healthcare access.
Professor Datuk
Dr Paul Chan, Chancellor of HELP University, said the collaboration is an
important step in strengthening the global ecosystem for mental health
education and technology-enabled healthcare innovation. He noted that mental
health is one of the defining challenges of our time and emphasised that
education must serve humanity by strengthening both intellectual capability and
human well-being.
He added that
the partnership brings together academic excellence and technological
innovation to develop new models of education, professional training, and
AI-supported mental health services, while expanding training into areas such
as digital health management and integrated healthcare systems.
Chen Guanwei,
Chief Executive Officer of Good Mood, added that the collaboration aligns with
the organisation’s broader vision of expanding mental health capabilities
through innovation and education.
“Through this
partnership, we aim to strengthen talent development, enhance professional
training, and contribute to a more connected and responsive mental health
ecosystem. Education and technology must work together to meet the scale of
today’s challenges,” he said.
As mental
health continues to gain global attention, collaborations that prioritise
education, professional development, and innovation will play a critical role
in shaping more resilient and inclusive healthcare systems.
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