Department of Psychological Medicine (the original name of the department) originated from the psychological clinic established by Professor Hongyun Gao in October 1998. It is one of the first units in domestic children's hospitals to carry out children's mental health services. Since 1999, it has independently undertaken the in-hospital mental and psychological consultation business. In 2000, the hospital established a rehabilitation center, and the psychological department staff were incorporated into the management of the rehabilitation center, but their professional work was relatively independent. In 2000, Professor Hongyun Gao led the first in China to carry out structured education and training for autism (TEACCH) and family upbringing support, as well as group behavior training for children with attention deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parent training, and the integration of medical care and education. In 2003, the department was responsible for leading and completing the research projects related to anxiety, depression and suicidal behavior among children and adolescents funded by the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission and the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission. In October 2005, the Psychology Department became fully independent in administration. Professor Hongyun Gao (October 2005 - May 2019) was appointed as the head of department. The department began to fully carry out medical, teaching and research work, and undertook the teaching of mental and psychological issues for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as international students of Fudan University. We have successfully applied for and completed multiple national-level medical continuing education projects, including the diagnosis and treatment of children's psychological disorders, the progress of tic disorder diagnosis and treatment, and psychosomatic medicine, and have received high praise from our peers. He has successfully hosted the ADHD International Forum and co-hosted the International Forum on Children's Neuropsychiatry with the Neurology Department for three consecutive years. Director Hongyun Gao has been invited many times to serve as a speaker and host at international academic conferences in the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Macao, enjoying a good reputation both at home and abroad. From May 2019, the department was under the charge by the Executive Deputy Director Daqian Zhu (May 2019 - January 2024).
In January 2024, the department was renamed the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, with Jinhua Sun serving as the head of the Department. The department mainly provides comprehensive medical services and family psychological support for various psychological and behavioral problems, mental disorders and physical and mental health of children and adolescents.
Discipline Overview
The department is based on and adheres to clinical practice, dedicated to improving the mental health of children and adolescents, and attaches great importance to teaching and research. Over the past 20-plus years, with the support of the superior departments and the hospital, as well as the guidance and assistance of domestic and foreign peers, the department has achieved rapid development and remarkable results. In 2019, Pediatric psychosomatic medicine was selected as an important weak discipline construction project of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission and successfully passed the acceptance inspection. Through the construction of the discipline, the clinical diagnosis and treatment capabilities of the department staff have been continuously improved. The department has a certain academic influence in China and has been unanimously recognized by peers and patients' families. It is also a key construction department of the Children's Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, one of the six major clinical centers of the hospital. Members of the department hold positions such as a deputy director committee member, standing committee member, committee member, group leader, deputy group leader, and secretary in over 30 academic institutions both domestically and in Shanghai. Such as serving as a deputy director committee member of the Women and Children's Mental Health Branch of the Chinese Association for Eugenics, a national committee member of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Group of the Psychiatry Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, a national committee member of the Child Mental Health Association of the Chinese Psychological Health Association, and Vice Chairman of the Psychosomatic Medicine Specialty Branch, Shanghai Medical Association, etc.
Main developmental direction of the Discipline
Over the years, under the leadership of Directors such as Prof Hongyun Gao, Daqian Zhu, Jinhua Sun, the department has formed its own specialty characteristics and discipline advantages. In attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, tic disorders (TD), feeding difficulties and eating disorders, childhood and adolescent mood disorders, affective disorders (including depression disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.), self-injurious behavior, chronic pain, psychogenic vomiting and other psychosomatic diseases, emotional symptoms and somatic diseases He has made significant exploration in the combination of medical education and multidisciplinary cooperation model for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and took the lead in carrying out psychological intervention and multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment model for Tourette syndrome in China. These measures have effectively improved the prognosis of some patients.
Current situation of Specialty
The department currently has 10 specialized disease clinics. Took the lead in establishing a multidisciplinary joint MDT clinic for four types of diseases, namely ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), tic disorders, feeding difficulties and eating disorders, and chronic pain disorders. We also offer a series of common psychological tests for children, including intelligence tests, learning difficulty assessment, attention tests, children's psychological development assessment, autism assessment, emotion assessment, tic symptom assessment, personality tests, and individual mental symptoms and behaviors. We provide professional psychological treatment services, including individual psychotherapy, family psychotherapy, and group psychotherapy. For some children in need, we offer sandplay therapy, creative art therapy, music therapy, etc., and provide group mental health education and training for parents.
Talent echelon
The department currently has 26 employees since Jan, 2026, among whom there are 2 experts with senior professional titles and master's supervisors, 12 physicians, 12 full-time psychotherapists, 1 nurse, and 2 clerks. Most of the team members have postgraduate degrees, including 4 doctors and 15 masters. The department has been continuously expanding and has formed a young team full of vitality and vigorous growth, with middle-aged and young professional and technical personnel in psychiatry and psychology as the backbone. It has won one project of outstanding discipline leaders in public health in Shanghai.
Awards and Honors
Under the care and support of the superior department and hospital leaders, and with the guidance of colleagues, the department has won many honors and awards. For instance, in 2019, the ADHD medical education integration project of the department was awarded the title of "The Most Exemplary Case of Improving Medical Services in China in 2019", demonstrating the innovative and unremitting efforts of the department in enhancing the quality of ADHD treatment services. On November 19, 2023, Professor Hongyun Gao from the department won the first prize in the first "The Temperature of Medicine" medical humanities essay competition jointly organized by the School of Medical Humanities of Peking University and the "New England Medical Frontiers" public account. He is also the only author in China to win the first prize. Professor Eric Rubin, the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, presented the award to him in person. In 2022， the popular science video "Mind-Body Romance - Double Act", directed and produced by Professor Hongyun Gao and performed by Sun Jinhua and Ding Qiang, won the second prize in the Mental and Psychological Popular Science Works Competition of the Shanghai Medical Association's Psychiatry Branch.