Psychiatrist on Wheels Brings Succor to the Poor

Psychiatrist Im Jae-young drives a truck through the streets of Seoul to offer free counselling to those in need.

Im started the mobile clinic in February after earning six-figure salaries in a hospital for seven years. "I chose psychiatry because I wanted to help people, but I found that many people can't afford to go to hospital even if they need it", he recalls.

"In the hospital I couldn't afford much time for counseling because I needed to see as many patients as possible", he adds. "Counseling costs W20,000 for 15 minutes and W50,000 for 45 minutes. That's expensive for the poor, and a 15-minute session isn't enough to help anyone".

When he first started the mobile clinic he was met with a cool response. But he did not give up and has counseled some 200 people over the past 10 months.

He cannot prescribe medication from his truck because the law prohibits doctors from seeing patients outside the hospitals they are affiliated to, but he can tell whether a visitor needs other treatment and point them in the right direction.

"Of the people I counsel on the street, about 15 percent suffer from psychiatric disorders", he says. Since March, he also has been offering counselling to prisoners who are at risk of suicide.

"If a mental illness is not treated properly it just recurs and leads to other serious problems. We really need a new counseling culture where people have easy access to expert advice", Im says.

He plans to set up a nonprofit organization specializing in psychiatric counselling from next year. Meanwhile he is grateful to his understanding wife. "If my wife hadn't agreed I wouldn't have been able to quit my hospital job", he says.

Since March, he has been working part-time at a small clinic in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, making W1.5 million a month (US$1=W1,195). "With additional income from lectures, I can make a living", he says. "I don't have a grand aim. I just want to make society a little better for my sons, who are two and four years old".