More than one-quarter of Taiwanese college students have been in therapy, a survey released by the Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union on Thursday showed.

Among respondents to the poll, 25.2 percent said that they had sought help from a counselor, it showed, with 48 percent having their first session with a counselor at an elementary or high school, 21.8 percent with a college counselor, 15.9 percent with a private practice and 14.3 percent with a hospital psychiatrist.

The in-house survey, which was conducted online last month, garnered 1,003 valid samples.

The need for counseling emerges early in life, so effective psychiatric care on campuses is an important requirement for student health, union member Lin Tzu-hsian (林子翔) said.

The average wait time for appointments with a college counselor is a month, showing that college students are underserviced in psychiatric care, Lin said.

The Internet, including YouTube, and television are the most common sources of information about psychological therapy for college students, he said.

This shows that psychiatrists are increasingly willing to share information online and via other media, he said.

Only 10 percent of respondents used podcasts or platforms such as Clubhouse — a social audio app — to get information about therapy, he said, adding that this suggests those mediums are underutilized by the psychiatric profession.

A separate poll by the Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union showed that the most common reasons for children to be in therapy are problems with family members, emotional management, socialization and inappropriate sexual behavior.

The reasons for therapy reflect the stages of growth and challenges that teenagers face, union member Chiu Ya-yi (邱雅沂) said.

Mandatory counseling for sexual misbehavior is usually the result of legally binding disciplinary action by a school’s gender equality committee under the Gender Equality Education Act (性別平等教育法), Chiu said.

Boys are more often subjected to mandatory counseling by such committees than girls, she said.

Girls are more likely to enter therapy for incidents of self-harm or refusing to attend classes, she said.

When a child is required to undergo counseling, schools may refer the student to a government-subsidized private practice, but parents can choose a counselor or psychiatrist, who they pay out of their own pockets, she said.

Parents should be involved in the psychological well-being of their children by seeking professional help when appropriate, Chiu said, adding that psychiatry is effective in teaching children to deal with sexual feelings, adapting their behavior to society and aiding self-understanding.

Union secretary-general Lin Shang-neng (林上能) said the polls show that young Taiwanese tend to have a positive attitude to psychotherapy.

Parents should make more use of counseling for their children, he said.

Psychological growth in children helps them become adults who are in control of their lives, which is at least as important as good grades, he said.