Prof. Zhang Xiangyang ยท Tsinghua University
A Chair Professor at Tsinghua University's Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Chief Scientist of the CAS Mental Health Service System. Ph.D. in Psychopharmacology from Peking University, postdoc at Yale School of Medicine. Previously tenured Associate Professor and Chief Psychiatrist at Baylor College of Medicine and UT Medical School. Published 750+ SCI papers, H-index 77, recognized as Highly Cited Researcher for 6 consecutive years and among the top 2% of scientists worldwide.
His Natural Psychotherapy, rooted in Morita Therapy and integrated with traditional Chinese culture and Buddhist wisdom, is built on the core principle of "Accept pain, take positive action." It effectively treats OCD, anxiety, phobias, depression, insomnia, internet addiction, and more. Group therapy can treat 40-50 OCD patients at once, with a 90% effectiveness rate โ all without medication.
Speaker: Professor Zhang Xiangyang (Xinghua Chair Professor, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Tsinghua University) Lecture Theme: Mental Health Science Popularization ยท Theory and Practice of Natural Psychotherapy Date: May 21, 2026 Duration: ~2 hours
“Back in the day, I desperately wanted to get into Tsinghua University, but I just couldn’t make it, so I went to Anhui Medical University instead. But who would’ve thought โ after all those twists and turns, I still couldn’t get into Tsinghua as a student, so I figured I’d just come here and be a professor instead.” ๐
“Every psychiatric patient’s medical history is a story written in blood and tears.”
Example: An American psychology professor asked a Chinese university audience during a lecture:
“A girl is on a date with a guy. The guy shows up late and says, ‘I went to see a psychologist.’ What would a Chinese girl think?”
The Chinese girl’s reaction: “You’re crazy!” and then she storms off ๐
This illustrates: 1. Chinese people have a very heavy stigma โ they conflate psychological distress with severe mental illness 2. Seeing a psychologist is wrongly seen as something only “crazy people” do 3. There is an urgent need for widespread mental health education
๐ก Professor Zhang emphasizes: Seeing a psychologist should be as normal as seeing a doctor for a cold or fever. Life cannot always be smooth sailing โ when you hit setbacks and feel down, anxious, or can’t sleep โ that itself is a psychological issue, just as deserving of professional help as any physical illness.
This is the most important content of this lecture. Professor Zhang provides a simple yet highly effective method for differentiation.
Key Indicator: Insight (awareness of one’s own condition)
Method: Ask the patient two questions and have them rate themselves (0-100 points)
| Score Range | Judgment | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Below 40 | ๐ฅ Mental Illness | Denies being ill โ “I’m not sick, why would I need treatment?” โ Refer to psychiatry |
| 40 and above | ๐๏ธ Psychological Distress | Strong desire for treatment, actively wants to solve the problem โ Can receive psychotherapy |
Professor Zhang’s experience: Using this method, 80-90% of cases can be correctly and quickly identified.
| Common Psychological Disorders | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| ๐ฐ Anxiety Disorders | Restlessness, palpitations, inability to sit still |
| ๐ Depression (Mild to Moderate) | Low mood, loss of interest, anhedonia |
| ๐ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Recurrent obsessive thoughts/behaviors, known as the “cancer of psychological disorders” |
| ๐จ Phobias | Excessive fear of specific objects/situations |
| ๐ Insomnia Disorder | A typical psychological disorder, not purely physiological |
| ๐ฑ Internet/Smartphone Addiction | Increasingly common among adolescents |
| ๐ School Refusal / Academic Disengagement | Many children have reversed day-night cycles, rarely leave home |
| ๐ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Stress reaction following major trauma |
| ๐ฝ๏ธ Eating Disorders | Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa |
| ๐ฉน Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (Self-Harm) | Common in adolescents, a signal of psychological distress |
| Indicator | Data |
|---|---|
| Lifetime prevalence | 6.8% |
| Total affected population | Nearly 100 million people |
| Female vs. Male | 1.5-2x |
| Treatment rate | Less than 10% (over 90% suffer in silence) |
| Type | Features | Treatment Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Mild-Moderate | ๐ข Experiences pain/suffering, strong desire for help | Can receive psychotherapy |
| Severe | ๐ณ๏ธ Not pain, but despair โ life holds no meaning | โ Therapist cannot take this on! โ Immediately refer to a psychiatrist for medication |
โ ๏ธ Warning: Patients with severe depression do not feel “pain” โ they feel “despair.” Celebrities like Leslie Cheung and Coco Lee, who appeared to have everything, committed suicide because during a severe depressive episode, life feels utterly meaningless.
The antidepressant blank-period risk: It takes 2-4 weeks for medication to start working. This blank period carries the highest suicide risk.
The parents’ attempts (all ineffective): 1. Scolding โ 2. Hitting โ 3. Applying chili water โ 4. Applying bitter liquid โ 5. Wearing rubber finger cots + chili water + bitter liquid โ
๐ค Think about it: According to Natural Psychotherapy principles, what should be done? (Answer to be revealed in tomorrow’s discussion)
The mother’s dilemma: - She knows sugar is bad for teeth and brain development - Her daughter cries and refuses to leave the store - The mother uses “gentle firmness” โ a gentle attitude but stands her ground
Professor Zhang’s commentary: ๐ก
“Gentle firmness may seem to resolve the immediate dilemma, but it nurtures a much bigger crisis.”
“Gentle firmness is still rejection. Repeated rejections are like taking a small hammer and tapping a big pane of glass โ one tap leaves no mark, but tap it over and over, and the glass will come crashing down. By early adolescence, the child will gradually shut down communication channels with their parents.”
Natural Psychotherapy principle: When handling relationship conflicts, both sides must maintain inner peace โ neither party should feel twisted up inside.
The mother’s anxiety: - She mentally prepares herself every day: “She’s my own flesh and blood, my own flesh and blood” ๐ - The more she thinks about it, the more she can’t sleep, spiraling into anxious insomnia
๐ค Think about it: According to Natural Psychotherapy principles, how should this be handled?
A parent from Ba Xue Yuan (a kindergarten/elementary school founded by Li Yue’er) who had upheld the “gentle firmness” philosophy for over a decade had it shattered by one sentence from Professor Zhang. He later said:
“Listening to Professor Zhang for one session saved three generations of my family.”
Natural Psychotherapy has developed a 1-to-n (one-to-many) group therapy model:
Bottleneck: It’s not the lectures (100 people listening is the same as 50) โ the bottleneck is the shortage of group leaders.
Professor Zhang’s vision: Cultivate a core team at Tsinghua who will become “seeds,” spreading across the country.
Spread Great Love ยท Accumulate Virtue ยท Promote Culture
| Mission | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ๐ Spread Great Love | Save young people suffering from psychological disorders, retain talent for society |
| ๐ Accumulate Virtue | Rooted in Buddhist philosophy โ doing good deeds |
| ๐ฎ Promote Culture | Bring traditional Chinese culture-based therapy to the international stage |
๐ก Key Takeaways from This Lecture: 1. Natural Psychotherapy is a psychological therapy founded by a Chinese practitioner โ simple, accessible, and effective 2. Psychological distress and mental illness are fundamentally different โ use “insight + the scoring scale” for rapid differentiation 3. Depression must be distinguished as mild-moderate (treatable with psychotherapy) vs. severe (refer to psychiatry) 4. Natural Psychotherapy can treat OCD in groups, with an effectiveness rate as high as 90% 5. The principles of Natural Psychotherapy can be applied to everyday parent-child relationships
๐ Editing Note: Compiled by Hu Xiaozhong using DeepSeek V4 Flash | June 2026
Speaker: Professor Zhang Xiangyang (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Tsinghua University) Lecture Topic: Mental Health Popular Science Lecture (Session 2) Date: May 28, 2026 Duration: Approximately 2 hours 7 minutes
“Inner awakening is the key to healing” โ This is the slogan of the Natural Therapy team.
Professor Zhang uses a classic video to explain ๐ด:
A horse falls into a mud pit. The herdsman tries to pull it out, but it’s stuck too deep. So the herdsman rounds up hundreds of horses to gallop around the pit. The horse in the mud, seeing its companions running, is awakened from within โ it leaps up and jumps out of the mud pit on its own!
The Message: - People with mental illness are essentially “thoroughbred horses” ๐ - They’ve fallen into a “mud pit of mental illness” - They can’t even perform like ordinary horses (their abilities are blocked) - What’s needed is “using life to awaken life” โ igniting inner motivation - If the inner self isn’t awakened, no amount of good methods will help
๐ก Current situation: Over 10,000 children in Haidian District alone have dropped out and stay at home; over 20,000 in all of Hangzhou. The number nationwide is staggering.
Core Question: Why do only some students in the same class develop mental illness?
Mental illness = Interaction between internal factors (personality foundation) + external factors (life setbacks)
| Trait | Description |
|---|---|
| ๐ Pride / Self-Esteem | Extremely strong; cannot tolerate being looked down upon |
| โ๏ธ Competitiveness | Wants to stand out; must win at everything |
| ๐ช Vanity / Ego Sensitivity | Highly concerned with others’ opinions and judgments |
People with the Three-Heart Plate also have these traits: - ๐ฏ Sensitive to external stimuli - ๐ High standards and strict demands on themselves and others - ๐ง Meticulous thinking, strong logic, intelligent
“No personality is inherently good or bad โ every personality is a double-edged sword.”
The Good Side ๐ Projecting mental energy into work/study โ Often achieves results (top of the class) The Bad Side ๐ When setbacks occur โ Confidence plummets from the peak straight to rock bottom
These people’s emotional states have two extremes: - In favorable circumstances: Confident, proud, outperforming others - In adversity: Confidence drops to freezing point, with no buffer zone in between
“They can go from the highest peak straight to the bottom” โ This is why top students suddenly collapse and refuse to go to school.
Professor Zhang and teacher Wu Guiying (who later became husband and wife ๐) made significant improvements to Morita Therapy at Huilongguan Hospital:
| Item | Japanese Morita Therapy | Chinese-style Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Bed-rest period | Fixed at 1 week | Flexibly adjusted |
| Treatment philosophy | “Accept nature” (8 characters) | Integrated with traditional Chinese culture |
| Treatment format | Inpatient only | Outpatient + Inpatient |
| Cultural background | Japanese culture | Traditional Chinese culture + Buddhist philosophy |
Stunning efficacy data ๐:
Treated 470+ cases of mental illness, including 100+ cases of OCD OCD effectiveness rate: 90% Clinical recovery rate: 75% The entire treatment used not a single pill ๐โ
At the time, nobody believed such young doctors (22โ23 years old) could cure OCD. They later invited the former hospital director, Zhao Shangyi, to conduct an independent outcome assessment โ after that, no one questioned it anymore. ๐คซ
Inherits the four-stage structure of Japanese Morita Therapy, but with significant improvements:
| Stage | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| โ ๐๏ธ | Bed Rest Period | Let the patient face their symptoms alone; unique psychological phenomena emerge (not recorded in textbooks) |
| โก ๐ถ | Light Labor Period | Begin mild physical activity |
| โข ๐ช | Heavy Labor Period | Push beyond fatigue, beyond self-limits; build mental toughness |
| โฃ ๐ | Recovery Period | Return to normal life; consolidate therapeutic gains |
Inpatient Natural Psychotherapy (such as at the Tianjin Psychological Empowerment Center) mainly targets difficult-to-treat patients, especially those with OCD.
Professor Zhang’s background: His master’s and doctoral research was in clinical psychopharmacology, so he is very familiar with medications.
Core Argument:
“The core issue in mental illness is cognitive distortion. No medication currently available can change a person’s cognition.”
Taking OCD as an example: - Patients take high doses of antidepressants (SSRIs), 2โ3 times the dosage for depression - Combined with strong antipsychotics (e.g., Risperidone, a schizophrenia medication) - Effect: Merely reduces obsessive thoughts somewhat โ treats the symptoms, not the root cause - The underlying issue remains; relapse occurs immediately upon stopping medication
โก Key Insight: Mental illness = a cognitive problem. Medication cannot change cognition โ Psychotherapy is essential.
A third-year student who, after learning Natural Psychotherapy theory, served as a small-group leader and was able to independently lead group therapy sessions! This shows the therapy can be quickly mastered.
Professor Zhang says: “I want to show you that even without any psychology background, you can quickly become an excellent counselor.”
“You didn’t just save this child โ you actually saved his entire family. Otherwise his mother would have gone crazy first, and the whole family would have fallen apart.”
A teacher from Zhengzhou who had done psychological counseling for over a decade never dared to take on a single OCD case in all those years โ when OCD patients came, she referred them to the psychiatric hospital. After attending just three days of Natural Psychotherapy training, she dared to take them on โ and the results were remarkably good. ๐
Professor Zhang’s team conducted a survey of 4,000+ people at Anyang Normal University. The results were shocking:
| Item | Data |
|---|---|
| People surveyed | 4,000+ |
| People with significant OCD symptoms | 800+ people (20%+) |
| Cause analysis | The only-child generation, overprotected + overcontrolled |
Why is this happening? ๐ค
The typical “pathogenic family structure”: - ๐ฉ Mother: Manages every detail (life + studies), swinging between two extremes โ overprotection and overcontrol - ๐จ Father: Absent from the child’s upbringing, only asks about grades and rankings - ๐ง Child: Sensitive + dependent, afraid to make mistakes, lacking resilience
Case study: A high school sophomore girl was told by her mother that she “must eat exactly three pieces of Coke chicken wings โ no more, no less.” Professor Zhang remarked: “If even eating chicken wings is micromanaged this strictly, how could the child NOT have problems?”
“Every psychiatric patient’s history is a story of blood and tears.”
“OCD is called the ‘cancer of mental illness’ โ no one wants to take it on. Why? Because the patient is smarter than you, knows more than you, and if you can’t cure them, you can’t even out-argue them.”
“Back then (at age 22), we used Morita Therapy to treat OCD with a 90% effectiveness rate, without a single pill. Let today’s psychiatrists think about it โ could they do the same?”
“Mental illness cannot be cured by medication โ no drug can change a person’s cognition.”
“You see, back in the day I tried desperately to get into Tsinghua but couldn’t. After all those twists and turns, I ended up here as a Tsinghua professor anyway.” ๐
“The most important thing in raising a child isn’t getting into Tsinghua or Peking University โ it’s cultivating willpower and setting ambitious goals.”
๐ก Key Takeaways from This Lecture: 1. “Inner awakening is the key to healing” โ the patient’s inner motivation must first be ignited 2. Mental illness = Interaction between internal factors (Three-Heart Plate personality) + external factors (setbacks) 3. Natural Psychotherapy evolved from Morita Therapy through three stages: Japanese โ Chinese-style โ Natural Psychotherapy 4. OCD effectiveness rate reaches 90%, with zero medication used in the process 5. Four future research directions: meditation prevention, group intervention, physical-illness comorbidities, and addictive behaviors
๐ Notes compiled by: Hu Xiaozhong using AI | June 2026
Lecturer: Prof. Zhang Xiangyang (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Tsinghua University) Topic: Mental Health Popular Science Lecture โ Session 3 Date: June 5, 2026 Duration: Approx. 2 hours 2 minutes
โ ๏ธ This is the most important of the six lectures! Today we cover all four core principles of Natural Psychotherapy. Once you master these, you can not only treat psychological disorders but also apply them to daily life โ parent-child relationships, marital relationships, in-law relationships, and more.
The human psyche may seem complex, but it boils down to three dimensions:
| Dimension | Meaning | โ Can it be controlled by will? |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ง Zhi (็ฅ) | Cognition, thinking, thoughts, ideas | โ No |
| โค๏ธ Qing (ๆ ) | Emotion, feelings, joy and sorrow | โ No |
| ๐ Yi (ๆ) | Behavior, action, volitional activity | โ Yes |
Because a common mistake people make is: trying to control what they cannot control.
Core Insight: Cognition and emotions cannot be directly controlled, but behavior can be controlled. We must focus our energy on what is controllable.
Wang Yangming (one of the two-and-a-half sages in Chinese history) proposed “Unity of Knowledge and Action” โ the union of Zhi (knowing) and Yi (acting).
Natural Psychotherapy goes further: Unity of Zhi, Qing, and Yi โ harmonious integration.
This is the most foundational philosophical idea of Natural Psychotherapy.
Two Steps: 1. ๐ Identify โ distinguish what is controllable from what is uncontrollable 2. โ Act โ focus on the controllable part, allow the uncontrollable part to exist
Scenario: The wife talks a lot (7,000โ20,000 words daily), the husband is a man of few words (about 2,000 words daily).
Natural Psychotherapy Analysis:
| Uncontrollable (Let It Be) | Controllable (Focus Action) |
|---|---|
| ๐ซ The husband’s innate quiet nature | โ Take the initiative to share one light, easy topic |
| ๐ซ Whether the husband is tired that day | โ Bring him some fruit, pour him a glass of water |
| ๐ซ The husband’s need for alone time to recharge | โ Watch TV with him (quiet companionship is enough) |
| ๐ซ Forcing him to become talkative | โ Vent to a close friend / join activities |
Result: The wife stops interrogating and blaming. The husband feels no pressure, so he relaxes and becomes more willing to communicate.
๐ก Core takeaway: Accept the other person as they are. Control your own emotions first, so you can free your hands to work on the changeable parts of the relationship.
โ Wrong reaction: Scolding, punishing, panicking, demanding “How could you score this?” โ Natural Psychotherapy approach: - The score is fixed โ uncontrollable, accept it - Help the child analyze mistakes โ controllable, take action - Create an improvement plan โ controllable, take action
This is the soul of Natural Psychotherapy and the most essential difference from Japan’s Morita Therapy.
| Stage | Formula | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ฅ | Endure the pain, do what you must | Passively endure symptoms while doing what you need to do |
| ๐ฅ | Accept the pain, refrain from what you must not | Actively accept symptoms; control pathological and avoidance behaviors |
| ๐ฅ | Seek the pain, do what you fear | Actively seek out feared situations and face them head-on |
๐ Don’t attend ยท ๐ฆ Don’t fear ยท โ Don’t resist ยท ๐ Don’t escape ยท ๐ช Act positively
| Principle | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ๐ Don’t attend | Don’t focus on symptoms, don’t get entangled in thinking loops |
| ๐ฆ Don’t fear | Don’t be afraid of the feelings that symptoms bring |
| โ Don’t resist | Don’t fight symptoms; allow them to exist |
| ๐ Don’t escape | Don’t avoid situations that trigger fear |
| ๐ช Act positively | Do what needs to be done, symptoms and all |
Stage One: Endure the pain, do what you must - OCD patients: Endure recurring obsessive thoughts while going to work/school - Anxiety patients: Endure heart palpitations and unease while socializing/attending meetings - Insomnia patients: Endure not sleeping, yet still function normally during the day
Stage Two: Accept the pain, refrain from what you must not - “Refrain from what you must not” has two aspects: 1. ๐ซ Control pathological behaviors โ e.g., compulsive hand-washers control repeated washing 2. ๐ซ Control avoidance behaviors โ e.g., social phobics control avoidance
Stage Three: Seek the pain, do what you fear ๐ฏ - This is what makes Natural Psychotherapy unique โ instead of passively enduring, you actively seek out situations that frighten you - Whatever you fear, go and do it - Completely break the vicious cycle of fear
Although the 24-character formula applies broadly, specific guidance varies by disorder:
| Disorder | Focus |
|---|---|
| ๐ OCD | Curb rumination, control compulsive behaviors |
| ๐ฐ Anxiety disorders | Endure anxiety, don’t avoid trigger situations |
| ๐ Insomnia | Don’t fight insomnia, accept not being able to sleep |
| ๐จ Phobias | Do what you fear โ face the object of fear directly |
| ๐ฑ Internet addiction | Control behavior, endure withdrawal discomfort |
Why emphasize “act positively”? Action isn’t just moving around aimlessly โ it serves three core functions:
“Old habits die hard โ but while character can’t be fundamentally changed, it can be improved. “
Many patients ask: “I run every day, do yoga, go to the gym โ I’ve kept at it for over a year. Why are my symptoms still here?”
Prof. Zhang’s Answer:
“Action itself is not about eliminating your symptoms โ it’s about living life with your symptoms. The symptoms may still be there, but your way of coping has changed. “
A psychological concept: The more you focus on / reject a certain feeling, the stronger that feeling becomes, forming a vicious cycle.
A Typical Spiral: 1. Anxiety arises 2. You think “I don’t want to be anxious” 3. The more you try to eliminate it, the stronger the anxiety grows 4. You try even harder to eliminate it… 5. Spiral escalates to a severe state ๐
Use the “Four Don’ts” to cut off the vicious cycle:
A symptom appears (anxiety / obsessive thoughts / insomnia)
โ
๐ Don't attend (don't focus on it)
๐ฆ Don't fear (don't be afraid of it)
โ Don't resist (don't fight it)
๐ Don't escape (don't avoid it)
โ
๐ช Act positively (go do what you need to do)
โ
Mental interaction is cut โ
Symptoms naturally and gradually fade
“Someone once told me: ‘Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in the world โ I’ve quit a hundred times.’” ๐
Key Insight: - Addictive behaviors (smoking) fall under Yi (behavior) โ they can be controlled - But if a person gets sick and the doctor says “quit smoking or you’ll die” โ they will quit - This shows willpower can work; it just needs enough motivation
Applied to Psychotherapy: - Compulsive behaviors (repeated hand-washing), internet addiction, substance addiction โ these are all behavioral issues - Behavior can be controlled! - If Natural Psychotherapy can treat OCD โ in theory it can treat all kinds of addiction
The principle for resolving all relationship conflicts:
Both sides must remain emotionally balanced; neither should be in a twisted, conflicted state.
Applicable scenarios: - Parent-child relationships: How to communicate when a child enters adolescence - Marital relationships: How to handle disagreements - Mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships: Called “the Gordian knot of Chinese relationships” - Workplace relationships: Conflict at work
“When applying Natural Psychotherapy, as long as your underlying logic is the 24-character formula, you can graft in the best parts of any other psychotherapeutic school or method.”
“Many therapists have spent hundreds of thousands learning various schools โ learn it in a flash, fail in practice.”
How Natural Psychotherapy is different: - โ Traditional: Learn theory โ supervision โ practice (long cycle, high barrier to entry) - โ Natural Psychotherapy: Practice โ summarize โ guide further practice (great truth is simple)
| # | Core Principle | In One Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| โ | ๐ Go with Nature | Control what you can; let be what you cannot |
| โก | ๐๏ธ 24-Character Formula | Endure โ Accept โ Seek; actively face suffering |
| โข | ๐ช Three Functions of Action | Improve emotions, adjust thinking, improve character |
| โฃ | ๐ Cut Mental Interaction | Don’t attend, don’t fear, don’t resist, don’t escape |
๐ Don’t attend ยท ๐ฆ Don’t fear ยท โ Don’t resist ยท ๐ Don’t escape ยท ๐ช Act positively
๐ก Key Takeaways from This Lecture: 1. Mental activity is divided into Zhi (cognition), Qing (emotion), and Yi (behavior) โ only Yi (behavior) is controllable 2. Going with nature = distinguish controllable from uncontrollable, focus on the controllable 3. The 24-character formula: Endure pain โ Accept pain โ Seek pain, progressive stages 4. Action has three functions, but its purpose is not to eliminate symptoms โ it’s to live life with symptoms 5. Cut the vicious cycle of mental interaction, and symptoms naturally fade 6. Natural Psychotherapy is open and inclusive โ it can integrate the best of other therapies
๐ Notes compiled by: Hu Xiaozhong using AI | June 2026
Lecturer: Prof. Zhang Xiangyang (Department of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Tsinghua University) Lecture Topic: Mental Health Popular Science Lecture โ Session 4 Date: June 12, 2026 Duration: ~2 hours
โ ๏ธ This lecture primarily serves as a review of the core theories from the first three sessions, while incorporating a large number of latest cases and extensions of new concepts. If you haven’t watched the first three lectures, it’s recommended to review the notes for Lectures 1, 2, and 3 first.
Xu Haijun, Director of the Psychology Department at the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University. Attended a 2-day Natural Therapy training course in Hefei six months ago.
WeChat message sent to Prof. Zhang this morning: - Before: never dared to take on OCD and PTSD cases - Now: takes on the most complex OCD and PTSD cases in the entire hospital - Feeling: “Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish” ๐ณ - Full of confidence, with more and more experience accumulating
Just two days of training + six months of practice โ someone who never dared to take on OCD patients became a fully confident professional therapist.
Yesterday, all 6 OCD patients at the Tianjin base achieved good results. One severe OCD patient: - Had tried multiple treatments with no effect, heavily medicated - After the bed rest period (~10 days) - OCD symptoms reduced by 70%! - Has stopped all medication ๐โ - The patient’s first words to their mother: “Mom, I’m much better now. I’m healed.” ๐ญ
Control what can be controlled; let what cannot be controlled be, let it arise. Change what can be changed; what cannot be changed, please let it be, let it arise.
This is the application of the Cognition-Emotion-Will theory:
| Dimension | Can It Be Controlled? | Attitude |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ง Cognition (thoughts/mind) | โ No | Let it be |
| โค๏ธ Emotion (feelings) | โ No | Let it be |
| ๐ Will (behavior) | โ Yes | Focus on action |
| Stage | Guideline |
|---|---|
| ๐ฅ | Endure the pain, do what you ought to do |
| ๐ฅ | Accept the pain, refrain from what you ought not to do |
| ๐ฅ | Seek the pain, do what you fear to do |
ๆญฃๅไธๅ๏ผไธๆฒป่ๆฒปใ True acceptance is non-acceptance; non-treatment is true treatment.
This phrase embodies the essence of Eastern wisdom in Natural Therapy:
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ๐ฏ True acceptance is non-acceptance | When you directly accept something, it’s as if you haven’t accepted it (it no longer troubles you) |
| ๐ฉบ Non-treatment is true treatment | Seemingly doing no treatment (having you accept your symptoms), yet the symptoms actually disappear |
This is the fundamental difference between Eastern wisdom and Western therapy:
| Comparison | Western Therapy | Natural Therapy (Eastern Wisdom) |
|---|---|---|
| Attitude toward symptoms | โ Eliminate, remove, fight | โ Accept, merge with |
| Method | Medication, physical regulation, exposure therapy | True acceptance is non-acceptance; non-treatment is true treatment |
| Philosophical foundation | Struggle, conquest | ๐ฎ Doctrine of the Mean, acceptance |
Prof. Zhang says: “I can’t beat you โ so let me join you, how about that?” ๐
Accept the pain, take positive action ๆฅ็บณ็่ฆ๏ผ็งฏๆ่กๅจ
| First Half | Second Half |
|---|---|
| ๐ Accept the pain | ๐ช Take positive action |
| Aligned with Buddhist “turning suffering into the path” | Completely consistent with Wang Yangming’s “unity of knowledge and action” |
| No rejection, no resistance | Do what needs to be done while carrying the pain |
These eight characters are the most distilled summary of the entire Natural Therapy system. From 24 characters โ 14 characters โ 8 characters, it keeps getting simpler.
Prof. Zhang presented a “three-step method” operational process for treating psychological disorders:
| Step | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| โ ๐ | Awareness (detection) | Help patients become aware of their thought patterns and emotional reactions |
| โก ๐๏ธ | Training | Build psychological resilience through bed rest, light physical labor, and heavy physical labor |
| โข ๐ | Action | Take positive action, live with symptoms |
The three-step method is fully aligned with the two major restraints in “refraining from what ought not to be done”: 1. Let obsessive thoughts arise, restrain compulsive behaviors 2. Let primary thoughts arise, restrain secondary thinking
Prof. Zhang’s team is advancing Natural Meditation for preventing psychological issues in adolescents:
Concept: Give adolescents a “psychological vaccine” โ prevention before problems arise.
Method of operation: - Spend 10โ14 minutes per day - Combine the 14-character guideline + meditation (four scenes: prairie๐ฟ, seaside๐, forest๐ฒ, breath awareness) - Persist for 28 days - Paired with guiding instructions: regarding your anxiety, depression, conflicts with classmates, criticism from teachers โ
Don’t rationalize, don’t fear, don’t resist, don’t avoid โ take positive action
Preliminary results โ : - Phase 1: 9 schools - Phase 2: 22 schools - Can effectively reduce adolescents’ anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation - Phase 3 plan: 50 schools
| Modality | Description |
|---|---|
| ๐ช Outpatient | Regular one-on-one counseling/treatment |
| ๐ป Online | Remote treatment (suitable for patients unable to attend in person) |
| ๐จ Inpatient | Tianjin Psychological Empowerment Base, includes bed rest + light/heavy labor periods |
Treating 40โ50 OCD patients in one session โ this is a world-class breakthrough!
Bottleneck: Not the lecture itself (100 listeners is the same as 50), but the shortage of group leaders: - Groups of 10, with 2 group leaders each - 50 patients need 10 group leaders - 100 patients need 20 group leaders
Hefei Phase 3 Group Therapy Case: - Dr. Hu Ranran (psychiatrist at Hefei Fourth Hospital, Ph.D.) - Initially skeptical (even disbelieving) โ how could OCD be treated in a group setting? - After leading the 8-week course: “I am so happy now!” All 3 patients under his care fully recovered ๐
“True acceptance is non-acceptance; non-treatment is true treatment.”
“Accept the pain, take positive action.” โ The core eight characters of Natural Therapy
“Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.” โ Dr. Xu Haijun’s feeling after completing the Natural Therapy training
“Pain has energy; pain has function. Every person living in this world will encounter pain sooner or later โ so don’t try to eliminate it, face it and accept it.”
“Psychological vaccine โ give adolescents their psychological preventive shot early.”
“Everything has its rules and patterns. As long as you grasp those patterns and rules, any problem can be solved.”
“Our therapy is like the game of Go โ the rules are extremely simple, yet the subtleties are infinite and the variations are endless.”
| This Lecture’s Content | Corresponding Previous Lectures |
|---|---|
| ๐ Review of the four theories | Lecture 3 (Core concepts) |
| ๐ Dr. Xu Haijun case | Lecture 2 (Case of rapid therapy mastery) |
| ๐ฉน Psychological vaccine | Lecture 2 (Natural Meditation project) |
| ๐ฅ Group therapy breakthrough | Lecture 1 (One-to-many model) |
| ๐ฎ Eastern wisdom vs. Western therapy | Lecture 2 (Comparison of therapy origins) |
๐ก Key Takeaways from This Lecture: 1. The core of Natural Therapy = “Accept the pain, take positive action” โ eight characters 2. “True acceptance is non-acceptance; non-treatment is true treatment” is the best embodiment of Eastern wisdom 3. Three-step method: Awareness โ Training โ Action 4. The Psychological Vaccine project is progressing, targeting 50 schools 5. Group therapy for OCD (40โ50 patients per session) has been validated with astonishing results 6. The therapy is like Go โ simple rules, yet infinitely varied in application
๐ Notes compiled by: Hu Xiaozhong using AI | June 2026
10 minutes daily, 28 days. Combined with the 14-character mantra: "Don't engage, don't fear, don't resist, don't avoid โ take positive action."