Amid the rapid aging of society and a growing population of seniors living alone, addressing loneliness and depression in old age has emerged as a new welfare challenge. In response, the Jemulpo Senior Welfare Center in Incheon (Director Lee Kyu-gang) has secured a strategic partnership with a private organization specializing in psychological counseling. The center announced that it officially signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Empathy Art Therapy Center (Director Jang Hyeon-jung) in the welfare center’s main auditorium on the 2nd to enhance the psychological and emotional stability and happiness of local seniors.
 [The Korean Today] Officials from the Jemulpo Senior Welfare Center and the Empathy Art Therapy Center at the MOU signing ceremony © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The agreement aims to go a step beyond the basic welfare services previously provided to the local elderly population, establishing a long-term psychological safety net by offering sophisticated internal mental stimulation through artistic media. Under the agreement, the two organizations will focus their efforts on setting up customized individual counseling rooms, linking systematic art therapy tools, and jointly planning regular group therapy sessions.
Additionally, the organizations will operate a multi-faceted referral system to identify service users at the center who are in emotional crisis and at high risk early on, and direct them to appropriate clinical counseling institutions. They also agreed to conduct monthly professional feedback training and advisory meetings for welfare professionals within both organizations.
The close relationship between the two organizations dates back to last year. At the time, they formed a partnership by participating together in the “Visiting Mind Journey” project, a public interest support program organized by the Incheon Council on Social Welfare. During the pilot group art therapy program, the stiff expressions of the participating seniors brightened significantly, showing visible therapeutic efficacy and drawing enthusiastic requests for the program’s return. This led to the current long-term agreement to elevate the program into a regular welfare service.
Lee Kyu-gang, director of the Jemulpo Senior Welfare Center, said, “Completing a healthy and happy life in one’s golden years is not merely about extending physical life, but about keeping one’s deep emotional state comfortable and vibrant.” He added, “We will continuously pioneer innovative integrated care packages by organically combining the high-quality art therapy techniques of the Empathy Art Therapy Center with the advocacy activities within our welfare center.”
Jang Hyeon-jung, director of the Empathy Art Therapy Center, said, “Art therapy is not a standardized education aimed at producing an aesthetically finished product, but a process of purification that releases subconscious depression through lines and colors created with one’s hands.” She added, “We will constantly provide therapeutic staff to heal the sense of loss experienced by the elderly in their later years through solidarity, love, and warmth.”
In particular, this public-private alliance is expected to serve as an exemplary model of district administrative philosophy aimed at expanding the depth of elderly welfare into specialized fields in conjunction with the launch of the newly reorganized Jemulpo-gu District. It is also anticipated to provide pivotal guidelines for forming similar allied welfare networks by sector within the region in the future.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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