The demand for psychological help in China is increasing, yet the opacity of mental-health industry and help-seeking stigma make psychological counselling less accessible. Meanwhile, insufficient research and inconsistent practices are barriers in pre-counselling. Thus, our project proposes an informative and client-oriented session (Pre-Psychological Counselling Session, PPCS) to align both clients’ and counsellors’ expectations before official counselling. By using surveys, interviews and a pilot test, we will investigate attitudes of the public, clients and practitioners, examine current pre-counselling implementation, and preliminarily evaluate PPCS’s effectiveness. Ultimately, PPCS is expected to reduce early drop-out and establish a strong therapeutic alliance, improving counselling outcomes.
