The Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is considered as a major global public health
event, which poses a great threat to the mental health of the public. The traditional psychotherapy of
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) focuses on the relationships among the emotions, viscera and Qi and
machinery, which could play a role in the intervention of public mental health. This paper analyzed the
public’s emotions, cognitive and behavioral characteristics under the framework of the seven emotions
and five Zhi of TCM. We also discussed how to apply the specific application of TCM psychotherapy in
different situations, such as opposing mood therapy, two-level emotional therapy, music therapy, Qigong
therapy, emotion transference method and speech therapy language. All of these above would provide
effective methods for psychological intervention in public health events.