Guangzhou Baiyun Mental Health Hospital Becomes a Founding Member of the South China Affective Disorders Alliance
On November 19, 2019, the unveiling ceremony for “Member Units of the South China Mood Disorders Alliance” was successfully held at Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital. As a result, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital became one of the first member units of the alliance. Professor Xu Guiyun, Chair of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bipolar Disorder Forum; Li Jianping, President of Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital; and the hospital’s medical and nursing team attended the ceremony.
Unveiling Ceremony for Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital’s Designation as a “Member Unit of the South China Mood Disorders Alliance”
Bipolar disorder is a common chronic mental illness with complex pathophysiological mechanisms. It is currently characterized by high prevalence, high recurrence rates, high suicide rates, and high disability rates. Data from the China Mental Health Survey (CMHS) indicate that the lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder in China is 1.5% (an estimated at least 45 million people are affected), with a disability rate of 0.24%. The lifetime recurrence rate without treatment is 90%, and even with consistent treatment, there remains a 73% risk of recurrence within five years. Nearly 20% of patients with bipolar disorder ultimately die by suicide.[1]
As the first specialized psychiatric hospital in South China, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital, upholding its mission of “building a mentally healthy world and promoting harmonious social development,” jointly announced the establishment of the “South China Mood Disorders Alliance” at this year’s 2nd International Summit on Affective Neuroscience and Brain Science and the 10th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bipolar Disorder Forum. The alliance was formed in collaboration with leading tertiary hospitals and authoritative medical institutions in China’s psychiatric field, including Guangzhou Huiai Hospital, the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Shanghai Mental Health Center, the Bipolar Disorder Committee of the Western Psychiatric Association, the Guangdong Medical Association, and the Jinan University Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Institute of Central Nervous System Regeneration. This initiative responds to the national Healthy China 2030 strategic deployment, aims to enhance the diagnosis and treatment standards for mood disorders in South China, and promotes academic exchange on mood disorders in the region.
At the unveiling ceremony held at Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital, Professor Xu Guiyun extended his congratulations to all medical and nursing staff. He stated that by joining the South China Mood Disorders Alliance, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital, which boasts substantial expertise in the field of mental disorders, will further deepen industry exchanges and promote continued exploration among healthcare institutions regarding treatment strategies and patient rehabilitation approaches for bipolar disorder in China.
Professor Xu Guiyun, Chair of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bipolar Disorder Forum, Director of the Mood Disorders Department at Guangzhou Huiai Hospital, and Master’s Supervisor
For over a decade, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital has been dedicated to various diagnostic and therapeutic services in the field of mental health. Specifically for bipolar disorder, the hospital adopts a comprehensive intervention strategy that combines novel antipsychotic medications, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation training. Leveraging the largest professional psychotherapy team in South China, it provides patients with systematic and holistic treatment. Continuous psychosocial support is offered even after discharge, aiming to reduce relapse and disability rates and help numerous patients reintegrate into society. Currently, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital admits nearly 2,000 inpatients with bipolar disorder annually.[3]
Benefiting from scientific treatment methods and advanced service concepts, Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital has gained recognition from peers and all sectors of society. It has successively received numerous honors, including being among the first batch of member units of the South China Mental Health Specialist Alliance, a corporate member of the Guangdong Medical Association, a member unit of the Private Psychiatric Hospitals Group under the Psychiatric Hospital Branch of the Guangdong Hospital Association, a corporate member of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association, an alliance hospital of the “Clinical Medical Research Center for Mental and Psychological Disorders” at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, a cooperative hospital within the Baiyun District Medical Consortium with Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, a research base of the International Society for Mental Health, and one of the “Top 50 Most Valuable Psychological Institutions in China (2018).”
Group Photo of Professor Xu Guiyun and the Expert Team from Baiyun Psychological Hospital
President Li Jianping stated that joining the South China Mood Disorders Alliance holds significant importance for Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital. It will not only help steadily advance the development of the hospital’s discipline in mood disorders, but also, through complementary strengths among colleagues across the field, provide patients with bipolar disorder with better diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative approaches.
Reference Data:
1. Huang YQ, Wang Y, Wang H, et al. Prevalence of mental disorders in China: a cross-sectional epidemiological study. Lancet Psychiatry. Published Online February 18, 2019.
Lu Lin, Shen Yucun Psychiatry, 6th ed., People's Medical Publishing House, 2017
Hao Wei, Psychiatry, 7th ed., People's Medical Publishing House, 2013
2. The 2nd International Summit on Emotion and Brain Science & the 10th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bipolar Disorder Forum
3. Guangzhou Baiyun Psychological Hospital: Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Data, 2016–2019