The Theory and Practice of Chinese Confucian Mental Health Education

Psychologists are committed to constructing Confucian mental health models with universal cultural applicability in order to reach common Confucian mental health education and teaching goals. These models can be divided into three main categories: first, the individual-centered mental health model based on Confucian emotional theory; second, the social-centered mental health model based on Confucian ethical theory, with happiness and social identity issues as themes. Finally, there is the state-centered mental health model based on Confucian political theory. However, none of these definitions can properly explain the Chinese perception of mental health and how mental health is dealt with in Chinese culture from the perspective of Confucian theory as a whole. Therefore, this paper proposes a Yin-Yang model of mental health by combining traditional Confucian cosmology. This model not only accurately describes the understanding of mental health in traditional Chinese culture, but also gives suggestions for teaching practice of psychotherapy and mental health education in East Asia in the context of Chinese culture.