Welcome

The current coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic not only poses a large threat to the physical health of our population, if we fail to act now, it will also have detrimental long-term consequences for mental health.

Though social distancing is a crucial intervention to slow down the destructive effects of the pandemic, it can lead to isolation, decreased physical activity, and increased rumination, which might particularly hurt those with pre-existing mental illness. Further, the stream of disheartening COVID-19 news provides fodder for increased worry and distress, which can be detrimental for people with anxiety disorders. Early cross-sectional surveys in the United States, Canada, and Europe show an increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety for the general population, associated with COVID-19

Telehealth

There is a crucial role for the use of teleconferencing software for therapy sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most studies of teleconferencing services showed that effectiveness is comparable to in-person services across disorders including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders. Psychotherapist has had success with this approach. Researchers recently wrote that during the worst of the outbreak in January, successfully online psychological counseling and self-help was widely rolled out by mental health professionals.

In the US, the pandemic has also catalyzed a rapid adoption of telehealth. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been revisited to permit more medical providers to use HIPAA compliant platforms to communicate with patients. This removes a major barrier to wider adoption of telemedicine and could also provide an outstanding opportunity for patients who previously did not feel comfortable seeking mental health care to now approach these services