LeteXinqing Mental Health Services: Expanding Across 60+ Cities with Integrated Online-Offline Solutions

For a long time, Chinese society and culture failed to distinguish psychological counseling from what is traditionally understood as “mental illness,” making psychological counseling a relatively unpopular and “cold” industry in China.

However, in recent years, with rapid socioeconomic development and a significantly accelerated pace of life, psychological stressors have been increasing, leading to a year-on-year rise in common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression, as well as psychological and behavioral problems.

According to the 2017 White Paper on Mental Health of Urban Residents in China, 73.6% of the Chinese population is currently in a state of suboptimal psychological health, 16.1% suffer from varying degrees of psychological problems, and only 10.3% are mentally healthy, with depression and anxiety being the predominant conditions. Furthermore, the Healthy China Action (2019–2030) reports that the current prevalence of depression in China is 2.1%, and the prevalence of anxiety disorders is 4.98%.

Behind the data lies the increasingly severe state of public mental and psychological health.

In this rapidly evolving field with substantial unmet needs, Shanghai Letian Xinqing Health Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Letian Xinqing”), founded in 2010, has established an early foothold and gradually emerged as a notable player.

Years of teaching experience enabled Wu Lishu, the founder of Letian Xinqing, to recognize the profound impact that psychological states can have on one’s life, work, and studies. Drawing from his personal experiences, Wu began collaborating with psychology experts in 2003 to offer training courses in psychology.

However, due to limitations in dissemination channels, this business did not expand on a large scale in the subsequent period. By 2008, the internet ushered in its third wave of development. Empowered by the internet, various innovative product forms continuously emerged across industries, and the mental health sector was no exception.

Amid this trend, Wu Lishu and his team began offering one-on-one psychological counseling services and disseminating mental health knowledge by launching a mental health website. After a period of operational validation, they gradually expanded the scale of their services, which laid the foundation for “Letian Psychology,” the mental health service platform now under Letian Xinqing. In essence, psychological counseling, as a communication-intensive form of mental health intervention, is inherently highly compatible with the internet.

Years of professional experience have also made Wu Lishu aware of various issues within the mental health industry. For instance, clients seeking psychological counseling often incur substantial time and financial costs through trial and error, while many services lack after-sales support, resulting in a poor client experience.

According to Wu Lishu, the emergence of this issue is largely attributable to insufficient transparency and standardization of services, as well as a lack of professional ethics among some practitioners. For the mental health industry, which places high value on communication and service quality, these problems undoubtedly constrain its development to a significant extent.

Therefore, since its inception, Letian Xinqing has prioritized customer experience and perspective in both its communication and after-sales services, respecting client preferences while emphasizing standardized service protocols. According to Wu Lishu, clients seek consultations with counselors primarily to alleviate anxiety; thus, it is essential to minimize any additional anxiety during the service process.

Actual View of Letian Xinqing’s Offline Counseling Center

However, for enterprises to consistently align with patient needs, beyond the founders’ own awareness, collaboration among team members and the team’s understanding of the industry are clearly of paramount importance.

It is understood that the core technology and operations teams of Letian Xinqing mostly have many years of professional background in the medical and health industry, and are also rich in experience in internet operation management.

In terms of team management, Wu Lishu places greater emphasis on shared values among team members rather than a single disciplinary background. “Only when team members are sufficiently harmonious, share common goals, and are willing to strive for those goals can enterprise development be more efficient.”

Benefiting from its high-quality service philosophy and team management approach, Letian Xinqing has maintained steady revenue growth. The platform now hosts over 2,000 licensed psychological counselors, with its professional network covering more than 60 cities across China.

In addition to the high trial-and-error costs for clients, another issue within the industry is the imbalance between supply and demand.

According to the World Health Organization’s recommendation that “one psychological counselor per 1,000 people represents the equilibrium point for a healthy society,” China requires at least 1.4 million psychological counselors. Currently, although there are over one million certified psychological counselors in China, only 30,000 to 40,000 are engaged in full-time or part-time work within the psychological counseling industry. With the cancellation of the national certification examination for psychological counselors, the shortage of professionals in this field is expected to continue widening.

Moreover, for psychologists in private practice, how to expand service channels and enhance their professional capabilities remains a challenge they face in their careers.

Building on this foundation, Lotte HeartEase has developed a professional information system for the business management of psychological counselors, drawing on years of operational experience. Additionally, it has established a mature framework for training, supervision, and professional development, enabling counselors to devote greater energy to their core service delivery.

In terms of target users, Lotte MindCare primarily focuses on consumer-facing (C-end) clients. To better align with user needs, the company has continuously optimized its product offerings, sequentially launching products such as the Lotte Psychology App and mini-programs.

As business operations expand and public awareness grows, demand for mental health services among B2B clients has surged significantly compared to a few years ago. Letian Xinqing’s client base has gradually extended to the B2B sector, with its core offerings including Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for corporate employees and group-based services for communities.

Furthermore, Letian Xinqing plans to collaborate with various stakeholders in the health sector to actively develop “Psychology + Cross-Industry” services. This involves partnering with health consulting firms, medical examination companies, postpartum care centers, and other enterprises and institutions within the health industry to launch mental health-related services and products. Although these services are fundamentally business-to-business (B2B) in nature, they can indirectly serve consumer (C-end) users by enhancing the differentiation and public recognition of the existing offerings provided by partner health enterprises.

Technology’s disruption of the healthcare industry has never ceased; the emergence of big data, AI, and other technologies has also brought greater possibilities to the mental health sector.

Building on the steady growth of its existing online mental health platform, Letian Xinqing is planning to launch version 2.0 of its app. Empowered by technologies such as big data, AI, and intelligent recommendation algorithms, the updated app will match users with tailored psychoeducational content and psychological counselors based on their preferences and habits, thereby more precisely meeting their needs. Additionally, AI can handle initial user consultations, enhancing service efficiency and standardization.

Whether it is the apps and mini-programs previously launched based on user habits, or the current psychological technology services, Lotte HeartEase has clearly demonstrated its ability to consistently align with market trends and optimize itself amidst the sweeping currents of technological advancement. Looking ahead, Lotte HeartEase has a clear strategic roadmap.

First, strengthen the team of psychological counselors by introducing more high-quality professionals, and gradually build a strong reputation and brand presence.

Second, we will strengthen our offline presence and build a branded chain of psychological hospitals. By prioritizing mental health while also addressing physical well-being, we aim to deliver deeper and more diversified services, including psychological counseling for psychiatric patients during their rehabilitation period.

In this process, Letian Xinqing will continue to enhance user experience by optimizing the patient rating system for psychological counselors and presenting service quality from a more objective perspective. Meanwhile, Letian Xinqing aims to establish synergistic partnerships with like-minded investors to jointly drive the growth of both the company and the industry.