Rapid treatment center for depression in China: constructive reflections and transnational implications

TL;DR

China is developing rapid treatment centers for depression using methods like ECT and ketamine, aiming to improve recovery speed and provide insights for global mental health.

Contribution

The paper reviews China's rapid antidepressant treatment strategies and their transnational implications for mental health care.

Findings

Rapid treatment centers in China use ECT, ketamine, and other therapies to speed up depression recovery.

These centers are part of national efforts to standardize and improve mental health care for MDD.

The strategies have potential to inform mental health practices in other countries and regions.

Abstract

Enhancing the early diagnosis and standardized treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), as advocated by the National Health Commission of China, is a key priority in the mental health initiatives of the nation. To achieve this, numerous evidence-based rapid treatment centers for MDD have been established or are currently under development across the country. These centers focus on the following primary treatment modalities for depression: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), intravenous ketamine/esketamine, esketamine nasal spray, magnetic seizure therapy (MST), and Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT). This policy and practice review explored the application and modification of these techniques in treating depression in China, addressing their strengths and shortcomings. With particular focus on China’s rapid antidepressant treatment strategies (e.g., ECT, intravenous ketamine/esketamine, esketamine nasal spray, MST, SNT), the current policy and practice review described their potential to speed up recovery thereby providing valuable insights for other countries and regions.