Jian Lili:Psychological Pioneer

Making Change

In 2011， Jian Lili felt stuck. Born in 1985， Jian started elementary school at age four and university at 15. At 20， she received a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience from University of London. Seen as a prodigy by many， Jian had already become a university psychological consultant by her twenties. However， she was far from content with her personal life as a young woman. She tried hard to make changes. She stayed active on Weibo， the Chinese equivalent of Twitter， joined an entrepreneur association of overseas returnees， and volunteered during her summer and winter breaks.

In 2012， at an invitation from friends， she began answering psychological questions for a Douban group. Douban.com is a Chinese social networking site that records user information and content related to films， books， music， recent events and activities in Chinese cities. Different groups form around different activities or topics. While answering users’ questions， Jian found many common themes and decided to turn her replies into articles. After publishing several articles， she gained many fans and became popular on Chinese social media. Jian began to receive more and more emails asking for help with psychological problems. Quite a few websites， including guokr.com and 163.com， invited her to teach open online courses on psychology.

New Opportunities

Psychological counseling is a young industry in China. For a long time in China， anyone who visited a psychologist was deemed crazy. Chinese people tend to relate emotion to the macro environment. Personal emotional expressions removed from the overall environment are considered inappropriate and cause social alienation. In this theory， many Chinese tend towards self-adjustment over seeking professional help when they encounter psychological problems.

However， during her several years of online psychological service， Jian has found that a growing number of Chinese people are seeking psychological help nowadays. In her online courses， Jian elaborated on such topics as depression， obsessive-compulsive disorder， autism， coping with emotions， and gender relationships. Jian answered many odd questions， such as “What kind of job and lifestyle are suitable for bipolar disorder sufferers？” and “I am an actor， and I recently developed an aversion to acting. Is this a manifestation of depression？”

By early 2014， Jian had amassed more than 20，000 followers on Douban.com. Facing more and more emails asking for help， Jian and her friends established a simple website featuring short videos of psychologists she trusted. She hoped to refer those in need to suitable and trustworthy help. This move turned out to be the embryonic stage of her psychological consultation website jiandanxinli.com.

More life-changing opportunities emerged for Jian in 2014 when she discovered Draper University on the internet. Tim Draper， a well-known venture capitalist from Silicon Valley， founded the school that advocates students changing the world. The university had announced its immersive program in entrepreneurship and was providing scholarships. Jian applied for the program and soon got good news.

During the seven-week residential program， Jian completed a wilderness survival adventure， topped the board of a sex toys selling competition， and shared stories with international classmates about the pressures faced by young Chinese women. When the program was almost over， it sponsored a graduation “road show” attended by a bunch of investors from Silicon Valley， where Jian spoke her heart. “I want to change the psychological therapy industry in China，” she declared. Before leaving the university， Jian met with Tim Draper in person for 10 minutes， tradition of the school. “I will invest in your program myself，” said the venture capitalist.

Entrepreneurial Lifestyle

Just two weeks after Jian returned to China， she received investments from China Growth Capital and ZhenFund successively. In June 2014， Jian quit her job at the university to launch jiandanxinli.com， the first mobile psychological counseling platform in China， heralding onset of her entrepreneurial journey which caused “world-shaking changes to her life，” in her own words.

The greatest change was Jian’s deeper understanding of the psychological therapy industry. Jian believes her business led her to a fuller picture of the industry as a whole and the real needs as well as the real problems. And as a business insider， she earned a chance to help solve these problems by default.

“The psychological counseling industry on the Chinese mainland is quite unique，”opines Jian. “From wartime， the ‘cultural revolution’ （1966-1976）， reform and opening-up， economic lift-off， to the internet age， the country has witnessed drastic changes， which are seen in every household and person. Both the government and people are looking ahead and expect the industry to play its role. However， in China today， structure for the whole industry has yet to be established. Many problems have arisen alongside great opportunity. What we， the industry insiders， are doing at this moment， is tremendously important.” After more than a year of efforts， jiandanxinli.com has amassed a roster of 270 high-quality psychotherapists from all over the world. With verified professional qualifications， these counselors have been selected based on strict criteria and their devotion to providing reliable service. At the same time， Jian and her team are working with research teams from both the United States and China to produce new products and programs to promote the development of psychotherapy in China. Jian doesn’t know where her venture will take her or if it will even still exist in 10 years. However， she believes it doesn’t matter. “Jiandanxinli.com is just a tool to promote the development of China’s psychological counseling industry，” she concludes. “I hope that in 10 years， China will have more high-qualified practitioners working in a better environment for development.”