History of Development

In January 1987, Professor Junmian Xu founded the Psychological Counseling Clinic in Zhongshan Hospital, which was the first psychological clinic in general hospital in Shanghai. At the same time, he set up the practice base for medical psychology. Since the June of 1987, medical psychology training programs has been offered every year for professionals both in Shanghai and other cities and provinces. In 1989, the Department of Medical Psychology of Shanghai Medical University was established officially and Professor Xu became the first director. In 1993, due to department adjustment, the department of medical psychology was incorporated into Zhongshan Clinical Medical School. In the same year, the Department of Medical Psychology came into existence in Zhongshan Hospital with Professor Xu serving as the director. During that period of time, the name of the department was not consistent, generally known as " department of medical psychology ", and sometimes also known as " department of psychological medicine ". In 2017, the department was named as "Department of Psychological Medicine ".

Since 1998, Professor Jianlin Ji has served concurrently as the director of the Department of Medical Psychology of Shanghai Medical University and the Chief Physician of Shanghai Medical Psychological Counseling Center. Since 2002, he has also served as the director of the Department of Mental Health，Shanghai Medical School，F(xiàn)udan University. From 2015 to 2017, Ji served as the dean of Mental Health Center Affiliated to Fudan University (under construction) and Mental Health Center, Minhang District. Two Associate Chief Physicians from the department also participated in the center's medical, teaching, research and other relevant work. Currently in the department of psychological medicine, there is one professor, one chief physician, two associate chief physicians, five attending physicians and two psychotherapists.

Clinical Features

The department undertakes the medical psychological counselling outpatient clinic services in Zhongshan Hospital. From 2013 to 2022, the annual number of outpatient visits has increased from 2000 during the initial stage of the department to over 50,000 nowadays, which is still on the rise. In March 2017, it also added a specialized clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Department is also responsible for the work of inpatient liaison consultations for psychiatric problems. In the early years, the annual number of general consultations, and emergency consultations and treatment in the hospital was approximately 200. Since 2013, the number has increased to over 1000 per year.

The main areas of research are listed as follows: medical psychological counselling for patients with anxiety and depression in general hospitals; research concerning different approaches of psychotherapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), humanistic psychotherapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, theory and practice of psychological crisis intervention; behavioral medicine and psychosomatic medicine; liaison and consultation for psychiatric problems in general hospitals; psychological problems and mental disorders in organ transplantation; identification and intervention of depression in community and primary care settings; psychological problems of patients with tumor. Additionally, our department plays an active part in multidisciplinary partnership work, including Psycho-Cardiology outpatient clinic and Multi-Disciplinary Treatment (MDT) clinic, such as Cardiac Tumor MDT, Cardiac Rehabilitation MDT.

Through the work in the general hospital over time, the department has gradually developed its own clinical features, implementing multiple psychotherapeutic techniques and putting them into clinical applications. In this way, medical psychological counselling offers not only psychological help and guidance, but also a comprehensive application of medicine, behavioral, cognitive interventions and other techniques to deal with diseases. The department provides diagnoses and treatments for the following disorders, which are commonly seen among patients in general hospital, including depression, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, psychosomatic diseases, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia, psychosexual disorders, adjustment disorders, learning disabilities, early mental disorders, suicide prevention and psychological crisis intervention. In addition, our department launched clinical psychological assessment actively, including the assessment and evaluation of anxiety, depression and other symptoms via psychological rating scales. The department was the first in China to initiate computerized psychological assessment. Besides, the department of psychological medicine also engage in the work of Shanghai Mental Health Hotline, in the form of telephone consultation.

Medical Education

In 1984, the Department of Psychiatry was established in Shanghai the First Medical College, with Professor Junmian Xu serving as the deputy director. In 1989, the Department of Medical Psychology of Shanghai Medical University was founded officially and Professor Junmian Xu was the first director. Despite a lack of human resources and a large number of patients, the department strives to overcome difficulties such as a shortage of teachers. Every year it undertakes the teaching and clinical internship of the two compulsory courses, Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, for undergraduate students in medical school. It takes on the teaching of the elective course, Methods of Medical Psychological Counselling and Progress of Psychosomatic Medicine" for graduate students, as well as offering lectures and clinical teaching to trainee doctors in Zhongshan Hospital and Shanghai Mental Health Center. Meanwhile, doctors in our department also take responsibilities for psychiatry ward rounding for instructional purposes, and psychiatric training for medical students in Shanghai Mental Health Center. Every year, the department fulfills the teaching and practicum work for students majoring in psychiatry in medical school (2 weeks/person). By the end of 2022, nearly 30 master students and 3 doctoral students (Joint-Supervision) have received education and training from our department, who have been all over the world. Since 2003, the department has held continuing education and distance learning courses annually in Shanghai or nationwide for those who are in need. Since June 1987, as a training base for trainee doctors, it has trained medical psychology professionals for Shanghai and other provinces and cities every year.

Over the years, members of the department have been to the University of Toronto, the University of Oxford, Harvard University, Cornell University and Duke University to receive further education. The department often welcomes scholars from the United States and Hong Kong, Taiwan province to visit and give lectures.

Members in our department have been engaged in Balint group activities for a long time, and have conducted training programs and workshops persistently at the same time, promoting Balint to hospitals in partnership in other provinces and cities. Through the national medical team and continuing medical education programs at national level, Balint group activities has been brought to Xinjiang, Gansu and other western regions where there is a lack of medical and human resources. This Balint group activities helps improve doctor-patient communication, occupational stress management, creating a self-healing spiritual home for medical staff.

Medical Psychology Project won the prize of Excellent Teaching Achievements awarded by Health Ministry. As editor in chief, chief translator or associate editor in chief, the department as a whole has been engaged in the compilation of 15 monographs. Medical Psychology (1st Edition)，edited by Junmian Xu won the first prize of Health Ministry Excellent Textbook, the second prize of Shanghai Excellent Teaching Achievement and special prize of Shanghai Medical College Excellent Teaching Achievement. Medical Psychological (2nd Edition) won the second prize of Shanghai Medical College Excellent Textbooks. Cognitive Psychological Therapy edited by Junmian Xu and Jianlin Ji won the second prize of Li Zonghua Mental Health Prize. Medical Psychology (3rd Edition) edited by Jianlin Ji won the third prize of 2003 Shanghai Municipal Education Commission Excellent Textbooks and the third prize of Fudan University Teaching Achievement. In 2017, Doctor Hua Chen participated in "Strengthening Medical Humanism and Constructing Medical Professionalism Educational System in the New Era" and won the first prize of Shanghai Teaching Achievement and the Special Prize of Fudan University Teaching Achievement. Clinicians in our department, Hua Chen, Chenyu Ye, Wenjuan Liu and others have been awarded as excellent teachers of Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fud

Scientific Research

Under the leadership of Professor Junmian Xu and Professor Jianlin Ji, the department conducted research concerning inpatients with depression and anxiety disorder in general hospital. On the basis of their research findings, they initiated practical work of psychiatric consultations and liaison in general hospital. For example, psychological counselling, psychological behavioral interventions, psychotherapies and so on. The following are some other major research work, such as the survey research regarding the quality of life and psychological conditions of patients with rheumatic diseases and organ transplantation, the evaluation of the use of Shanghai mental health hotline for psychological counselling, and the investigation of the effects of hotline on psychological crisis intervention for people who attempted suicide. The research mentioned above expanded the research on identification of and intervention for depression among health care workers in the community.

In recent years, the department has cooperated proactively with other hospitals, getting involved in various research projects, such as  "Cohort Database Construction of the Specialized Disorder-Depression", the national multi-center prospective randomized controlled clinical trial named as "Artificial intelligence Psychotherapy Robot", offering assistance in the treatment for anxiety disorders; "Shanghai clinical medical research center for mental and psychological Disorders", " Investigation of virtual reality technology integrated with medication for treatment for spectrum of anxiety disorders". Department members have taken part in the formulation and compilation of international guidelines on generalized anxiety disorder, and Chinese guidelines on depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, as well as relevant documents of consensus among clinical experts. All the members in the department have published more than 500 papers of various kinds, among which, more than 60 papers were indexed by SCI.

Junmian Xu has received the special government allowance of the state council since 1993, and he was conferred the Chinese Behavioral Medicine Special Contribution Award by the Chinese Medical Association Behavioral Medicine Branch in 2015. Jianlin Ji won the second prize of the sixth "Silver Snake Award" of Shanghai Health System, the Wu Jieping-Yang Sen Medical Research Prize, Baoshan Iron & Steel Excellent Teacher Prize. He also received honors such as “Expert with Outstanding Contributions to Psychosomatic Medicine” by the Chinese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine. Dr. Xiao Huang was awarded the Outstanding Academic Leader of Shanghai Public Health System Talent Construction, in the field of mental health and psychology. In 2018, Doctor Hua Chen received award nominated for the second "Benevolence Doctor" excellent Specialist in Shanghai. Doctor Chenyu Ye received the honorary title of“March 8th Red-banner pace-setter”, awarded by Shanghai Municipal Health System in the year of 2017-2018.

Social Services

Members in the department have joined the national medical team actively. Doctor Hua Chen participated in the medical team supporting Xinjiang and Yunnan provinces several times. In 2016, Doctor Wenjuan Liu joined the medical team in support of Xinjiang. All the members also play an active role in various volunteer activities, and have been engaged in science popularization for years. Starting from 2020, all members in the department have taken an active part in activities fighting against COVID-19 epidemic.