Psychological Effects of COVID-19 and Preliminary Treatment Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Sarah H. Gulick ◽  
Steven Mandel ◽  
Edward A. Maitz ◽  
Christopher R. Brigham

Abstract The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus affects the mental health of many. Isolation, fear of infection, and social distancing may affect psychological functioning. Research continues to evolve and reveal the psychological symptoms reported by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis have been reported in the literature for COVID-19 patients. Potential preliminary treatment recommendations include various forms of psychotherapy, such as dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. More research should be done regarding other additional treatment recommendations that may facilitate psychological healing in COVID-19 patients.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Schindler ◽  
Allison Cowan

Almost half of all women and almost a quarter of all men in the United States have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Treating individuals who have survived sexual assault can pose challenges for psychiatric and medical treatment. The rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are higher with sexual assault, and people with sexual trauma often feel stigmatized and have difficulty presenting for care. This chapter reviews epidemiology and neurobiology of sexual assault as well as the physical and psychological sequelae of sexual assault. Here, the authors review and propose practical treatment recommendations to assist in the treatment of individuals with a history of sexual assault. This review 5 figures, 5 tables, and 53 references. Key Words: posttraumatic stress disorder, rape recovery, sexual assault, treatment recommendations, women’s mental health, rape survivor treatment, rape


2020 ◽  
pp. 003022282091867
Author(s):  
Ines Baumann ◽  
Jochen Künzel ◽  
Lutz Goldbeck ◽  
Dunja Tutus ◽  
Mandy Niemitz

Bereaved parents may experience diverse psychological symptoms. Possible interventions are not yet well established. In this study, the psychological symptoms of 323 bereaved parents (mean age = 39.97, SD = 7.21, 52.0% female), referred to a 4-week family-oriented rehabilitation (FOR) program, were assessed. The baseline assessments indicated that 160 (49.5%) parents showed symptoms of prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Complicated grief was indicated in 272 (84.2%), depression in 191 (59.1%), and posttraumatic stress disorder in 242 (74.9%) parents. Mothers were at higher risk of complicated grief ( p ≤ .001), depression ( p = .029), and posttraumatic stress disorder ( p = .004), compared to fathers. Significant remissions of symptoms between admission and discharge from the program are presented as symptoms of complicated grief, depression, and posttraumatic stress. The effect sizes ranged between d = 0.68 and 1.22. In addition, significantly fewer parents fulfilled PGD criteria on discharge from the FOR program ( p ≤ .001). The special FOR program appears promising with regard to improving the bereaved parents’ mental health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (34) ◽  
pp. 2884-2887
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Joopaka ◽  
Molanguri Umashankar ◽  
Pingali Srilakshmi ◽  
Pradeep Sharma Telkapalli ◽  
Chinni Krishna Banoth ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Corona virus disease or the (COVID 19) has caused mental health problems in the general population, in people infected and hospitalised for the disease and in patients who have recovered from the disease physically but continue to suffer from lingering mental health problems. Studies have shown stress, depression, and anxiety in one third of the survivors. Similarly post-traumatic stress disorder has been reported to be around 13 % in the survivors of COVID 19. In this study, we wanted to assess the psychological symptoms in the survivors of Covid 19 patients, one month post discharge and also assess various factors associated with the same. METHODS A cross sectional telephonic survey of the patients one month following discharge was done to understand the psychological problems. Sociodemographic data was recorded on a semi structured proforma, whereas psychological distress was recorded on patient health questionnaire - 4 (PHQ - 4) and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was screened for by the impact of event scale revised (IES - R). RESULTS Of the 200 patients evaluated, 46.8 % scored above 20 on the impact of event scale which was considered to be a positive screen for post-traumatic stress disorder. Moderate psychological distress was reported by 10.5 % and severe by 7.5 % as measured by PHQ - 4. Being married, having other family members effected by the infection and deaths in the family were some of the factors that were significantly associated with psychological distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSIONS Continued mental health support needs to be extended to members who are considered to have recovered and discharged from the hospital following the COVID 19 infection. KEY WORDS COVID 19, Psychological Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Martinez-Torteya ◽  
G. Anne Bogat ◽  
Alexander von Eye ◽  
Alytia A. Levendosky ◽  
William S. Davidson

Intimate partner violence (IPV) increases risk for depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Most studies use a dose–response approach to examine the impact of IPV on mental health, but they often fail to explain mental health outcome specificity as well as to assess the impact of women’s subjective appraisals. The present research examined women’s IPV stressfulness appraisals and their psychological functioning (depressive and PTSD symptoms). Results indicate that IPV stressfulness appraisals are associated with depressive symptoms over and above frequency and severity of IPV. PTSD symptoms were associated with frequent and stressful IPV. Women who experienced highly frequent and highly stressful IPV were most likely to display comorbid depressive and PTSD symptoms. Results underscore the importance of women’s subjective experiences and the heterogeneity of women’s responses to IPV.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. S227-S234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andra Teten Tharp ◽  
Jennifer J. Vasterling ◽  
Greer Sullivan ◽  
Xiaotong Han ◽  
Teri Davis ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackground: Identifying individuals at risk for mental health problems after a disaster often involves assessing potentially traumatic exposures inherent to the disaster. Survivors of disasters also may have been exposed, both before and during the event, to trauma not directly related to the disaster. A substantial literature suggests exposure to interpersonal violence may have more severe negative outcomes than exposure to non-violent events; however, it is unclear whether violent vs nonviolent exposures before and during a disaster have differential effects on postdisaster psychological functioning.Methods: We examined the associations of violent and nonviolent exposures before and during Hurricane Katrina with postdisaster psychological functioning in a sample of male military veterans.Results: Violent and nonviolent exposures post-Hurricane Katrina as well as pre-Katrina violent exposures were significantly associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, panic, and generalized anxiety disorder more than 2 years after the storm. Moreover, veterans who reported violent exposures pre-Katrina were more than 4 times more likely to have reexperienced interpersonal violence during Katrina than those who did not report such exposures.Conclusions: Results suggest assessing disaster-specific experiences in addition to predisaster interpersonal violence may be important for identifying and triaging individuals at risk for postdisaster mental health problems.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:S227-S234)


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Chen ◽  
Zhuohong Zhu ◽  
Fei Lei ◽  
Shulan Lei ◽  
Jing Chen

Objectives: To explore the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the factors influencing mental health symptoms in students aged 8–18 in Wuhan, China at 6 months after the COVID-19 pandemic was controlled.Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to students aged 8–18 in Wuhan through an online platform from September to October 2020, and 15,993 valid surveys were returned, resulting in a response rate of 75.4%. The data related to symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, stress and psychological inflexibility levels, as well as demographic information about the population. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the predictive effects.Results: In total, 11.5% of the students met the criteria for clinically concerning PTSD symptoms. Psychological inflexibility was associated with PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (β = 0.45, 0.63, 0.65 and 0.69, respectively, with ΔR2 = 0.16, 0.32, 0.34 and 0.39, respectively, p < 0.001) in children and adolescents.Conclusion: This study investigated the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health status among students aged 8–18 in Wuhan. Even at 6 months after the outbreak was brought under control, some students were still affected. Psychological inflexibility was correlated with psychological symptoms in students. Therefore, methods to reduce psychological inflexibility may help improve the mental health states of students as part of psychological interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-182
Author(s):  
Christian Schetsche ◽  
Luis Carlos Jaume ◽  
Lucas Gago-Galvagno ◽  
Ángel Elgier

The aim of this study was to compare a sample of residents in cohousing communities (n = 180) and inhabitants in traditional neighborhoods (n = 104). During the social isolation that was decreed by the German government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection was carried out through the Internet. Psychological symptoms and coping strategies were measured, and their differences were investigated by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results showed that residents in cohousing communities have lower levels of depressive, anxiety, compulsive and eating disorders, as well as less use of coping strategies which are based on emotional concealment, problem avoidance, and social withdrawal. Moreover, its inhabitants showed higher levels in the use of social support. It is concluded that living in a cohousing community favors, in comparison with life in traditional neighborhoods, the mental health of its inhabitants.


Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 348-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Sueki

Background: Previous studies have shown that suicide-related Internet use can have both negative and positive psychological effects. Aims: This study examined the effect of suicide-related Internet use on users’ suicidal ideation, depression/anxiety tendency, and loneliness. Method: A two-wave panel study of 850 Internet users was conducted via the Internet. Results: Suicide-related Internet use (e.g., browsing websites about suicide methods) had negative effects on suicidal ideation and depression/anxiety tendency. No forms of suicide-related Internet use, even those that would generally be considered positive, were found to decrease users’ suicidal ideation. In addition, our results suggest that the greater the suicidal ideation and feelings of depression and loneliness of Internet users, the more they used the Internet. Conclusion: Since suicide-related Internet use can adversely influence the mental health of young adults, it is necessary to take measures to reduce their exposure to such information.


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