In a meeting with the Taiwan Association of Clinical Psychology (TACLIP) and representatives from related fields on Monday, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德)announced a new policy supporting mental health resilience and emphasized the importance of mental health as part of his vision for a Healthy Taiwan.
Addressing TACLIP and other attendees, Lai first thanked them for their contributions to public health, then explained that as a former physician he understands how significant mental health is to overall health. It was for this reason that he first promoted the Psychologists Act during his tenure as a legislator and why, during his first year as president, he established the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee.
Lai highlighted a recently approved national plan for mental health resilience combining efforts across 13 ministries toward the establishment of a more complete and universal mental health support system. He also described the success of the mental health support program launched in August 2024, which provides three free psychological counseling sessions for people aged 15 to 45; more than 30,000 people have already been served since this program was launched, resulting in 9,000 treatment referrals. Lai furthermore called attention to the mental health leave provided to high school and college students starting last semester, allowing students to achieve a better work-life balance.
Lai expressed his conviction that the government is obligated to invest more resources in the mental health field. He urged Taiwan’s clinical psychology experts to continue providing their expertise to aid in the development of future mental health policies.