A British Psychologist’s View of Psychotherapy in China by Stephen F. Myler, PhD

Dr. Myler, a British psychologist explores the world of psychotherapy in China as he teaches and practices therapy in Wuhan and Shanghai, China. He presents his own perceptions of Chinese culture including the role of face and shame, favour, the fast pace of change, changing gender roles, attitudes toward mental disorders and therapy, high suicide rates, the one child policy and the family, and building trust in therapy. His take on the state of psychotherapy training in China and the Chinese psychology student offer a glimpse into the future of psychotherapy in China.

Commentary by a Chinese Psychotherapist in the United States by Hui Qi Tong, MD, PhD candidate

In this commentary, Hui Qi Tong explores questions and ideas raised in Dr. Myler’s article on a British Psychologists View of Psychotherapy in China. As a Chinese woman trained in medicine and psychiatry in China, having worked as a  psychotherapist and clinical researcher in the US and China, and now in a psychology internship in a doctoral program in California, she gives her unique perspective on psychotherapy in China, Taoism  and CBT, women in China, the role of shame, and her work with Chinese American clients.

Stephen Myler

Dr. Stephen Myler is from Leicester in England, an industrial town in the Midlands of the United Kingdom. He holds a B.Sc. (Honours) in Psychology from the UK’s Open University, the largest in the UK; he also has an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Knightsbridge University in Denmark. In addition, Stephen holds many diplomas and awards in a variety of academic areas including journalism, finance, teaching, and advanced therapy for mental health. Stephen has many years teaching experience as a Professor of Psychology in colleges and universities in England and China to post 16 young adults, instructing in psychology, counselling, psychotherapy, sociology, English, marketing, and business. He has been fortunate to travel extensively from Australia to Africa to the United States, South America, Borneo, most of Europe and Russia. Stephen’s favourite hobby is the study of primates and he likes to play badminton. He believes that students who enjoy classes with humour and enthusiasm from the teacher always come back eager to learn more.

Hui Qi with her son on Revere Beach, Massachusetts

Hui Qi Tong is a graduate from Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University and a psychiatrist by training before she came to the United States in 1995. She was a research fellow at the Genetics Division, Children?s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School and Clinical Research Associate in the Psychiatry department, Tufts University, School of Medicine. Hui Qi started her graduate study in Clinical Psychology at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in 2002. Currently, she is a psychology intern with the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco. Her main clinical and research interests are in trauma, suicidal behavior, attachment and psychopathology, cultural adaptation of psychotherapy and the integration of Eastern and Western approaches in psychotherapy and related topics. She has co-authored or co-edited about 20 papers and chapters and translated one psychotherapy book into Mandarin, Every Day Gets a Little Closer: A Twice-Told Therapy: by Irvin D. Yalom and Ginny Elkin. Currently, she is translating Sophie Freud's: Living in the Shadow of the Freud's Family. Hui Qi Tong.