Brief Report: Frequency and Perceived Effectiveness of Mental Health Providers’ Coping Strategies during COVID-19 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Reilly ◽  
Zachary A. Souillard ◽  
William T. McCuddy ◽  
James J. Mahoney III
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Individual Therapy ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Health Practitioners

BACKGROUND There has been an emphasis on understanding detrimental effects of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on individuals’ mental health, including increased mood symptoms, sleep and appetite disturbance, and substance use. U.S. mental health practitioners have responded by adjusting their practices, particularly related to increasing tele-mental health treatment. Healthcare workers may experience increased emotional and behavioral health concerns to a greater degree even than the general public. Mental health practitioners are not immune to psychological distress and simultaneously have an ethical imperative to maintain their wellbeing. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to descriptively examine the frequency with which U.S. mental health practitioners use various coping strategies and the perceived effectiveness of these strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the study explored how use of coping strategies and their perceived effectiveness differed for mental health providers across career stages (i.e., trainees versus licensed practitioners [LPs]). METHODS Qualtrics survey data were collected from mental health practitioners (N = 888) as part of a larger study surveying responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were asked about the strategies they were using to manage COVID-19-associated anxiety/distress and how effective they perceived their chosen strategies to be (1 = very ineffective to 5 = very effective). Bonferroni-adjusted chi-square tests and t-tests were conducted to assess differences by career stage. RESULTS Overall, respondents used various coping strategies to manage COVID-19-related anxiety/distress. Behavioral strategies were most common, particularly distraction/engaging in an enjoyable activity (88.63%), spending time with loved ones (77.82%), and exercise (72.64%). Respondents reported engaging other professionals both for work-related matters (e.g., peer consultation, 56.76%) and personal matters (e.g., individual therapy or counseling, 16.10%). Over one-quarter reported using alcohol to cope (28.27%). Overall, respondents generally perceived the strategies they employed to be “somewhat” to “very effective” in managing their COVID-19-related anxiety/distress; no strategies were generally perceived as ineffective. Compared to licensed practitioners, trainees were significantly more likely to manage COVID-19-related anxiety/distress using supervision (p < .001) and substances other than alcohol or tobacco (p = .001). There were no statistically significant differences in how effective trainees and LPs perceived each strategy. CONCLUSIONS Overall, a vast majority of U.S. mental health practitioners – trainees and LPs alike – reported using predominantly behavioral coping strategies, which they perceived to be effective, during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During and after the pandemic, it will be important for mental health providers to continue to practice effective coping strategies and other forms of self-care in order to provide optimal services to their clients. The present study offers specific ways in which institutions and employers may help mental health practitioners during this stressful time, such as checking in on their wellbeing and offering substance use education, particularly to trainees.

scholarly journals Mental Health Practitioners’ Understanding of Speech Pathology in a Regional Australian Community

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1485
Author(s):  
Tina Janes ◽  
Tania Signal ◽  
Barbra Zupan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Speech Pathology ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Speech Pathologist ◽  
Speech Pathologists

(1) Background: This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and the perceptions of speech pathology held by a sample of regional mental health practitioners and to explore factors that facilitate understanding of the roles of speech pathologists in mental health. While mental health is recognised as an area of practice by Speech Pathology Australia, the inclusion of speech pathologists in mental health teams is limited. (2) Methods: An anonymous online survey was created using previously validated surveys and author generated questions and distributed to mental health practitioners in Central Queensland, Australia. (3) Results: Mental health practitioners had difficulty identifying speech pathology involvement when presented with case scenarios. Accuracy was poor for language-based cases, ranging from 28.81% to 37.29%. Participants who reported having worked with a speech pathologist were more likely to demonstrate higher scores on the areas of practice questions, [r(53) = 0.301, p = 0.028], and the language scenarios [r(58) = 0.506, p < 0.001]. They were also more likely to agree to statements regarding the connection between speech pathology and mental health, r(59) = 0.527, p < 0.001. (4) Conclusions: As found in this study, contact with speech pathologists is a strong predictor of mental health providers’ knowledge of the speech pathology profession. Thus, the challenge may be to increase this contact with mental health providers to promote inclusion of speech pathologists in the mental health domain.

scholarly journals Mental Health Practitioners’ Immediate Practical Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Questionnaire Study

10.2196/21237 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e21237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon E Reilly ◽  
Katherine L Zane ◽  
William T McCuddy ◽  
Zachary A Soulliard ◽  
David M Scarisbrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
The Future ◽  
Therapeutic Services

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased psychological distress, signaling the need for increased mental health services in the context of stay-at-home policies. Objective This study aims to characterize how mental health practitioners have changed their practices during the pandemic. The authors hypothesize that mental health practitioners would increase tele–mental health services and that certain provider types would be better able to adapt to tele–mental health than others. Methods The study surveyed 903 practitioners, primarily psychologists/doctoral-level (Psych/DL) providers, social workers/master’s-level (SW/ML) providers, and neuropsychologists employed in academic medical centers or private practices. Differences among providers were examined using Bonferroni-adjusted chi-square tests and one-way Bonferroni-adjusted analyses of covariance. Results The majority of the 903 mental health practitioners surveyed rapidly adjusted their practices, predominantly by shifting to tele–mental health appointments (n=729, 80.82%). Whereas 80.44% (n=625) were not using tele–mental health in December 2019, only 22.07% (n=188) were not by late March or early April 2020. Only 2.11% (n=19) reported no COVID-19–related practice adjustments. Two-thirds (596/888, 67.10%) reported providing additional therapeutic services specifically to treat COVID-19–related concerns. Neuropsychologists were less likely and Psych/DL providers and SW/ML providers were more likely than expected to transition to tele–mental health (P<.001). Trainees saw fewer patients (P=.01) and worked remotely more than licensed practitioners (P=.03). Despite lower rates of information technology service access (P<.001), private practice providers reported less difficulty implementing tele–mental health than providers in other settings (P<.001). Overall, the majority (530/889, 59.62%) were interested in continuing to provide tele–mental health services in the future. Conclusions The vast majority of mental health providers in this study made practice adjustments in response to COVID-19, predominantly by rapidly transitioning to tele–mental health services. Although the majority reported providing additional therapeutic services specifically to treat COVID-19–related concerns, only a small subset endorsed offering such services to medical providers. This has implications for future practical directions, as frontline workers may begin to seek mental health treatment related to the pandemic. Despite differences in tele–mental health uptake based on provider characteristics, the majority were interested in continuing to provide such services in the future. This may help to expand clinical services to those in need via tele–mental health beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals The Moderating Role of Coping Strategies in Occupational Stress and Burnout among Mental Health Practitioners in Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-43
Author(s):  
Amna Noureen ◽  
Asghar Ali Shah ◽  
Muhammad Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Brief Cope ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Moderating Role

The current study was aimed to observe the moderating role of coping strategies in occupational stress and burnout among mental health practitioners. It was also aimed to examine the relationship of demographic factors with occupational stress, burnout and coping strategies. Data was collected from 200 mental health practitioners (clinical psychologists and psychiatrists) from different government and private hospitals and rehabilitation centers situated in different cities of Pakistan. Three scales were used in the research, that is, Mental Health Professional Stress Scale to measure occupational stress, Brief Cope to measure coping strategies and Maslcah Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey to assess burnout. The results indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between occupational stress, burnout and emotion focused coping strategies. The analyses showed that coping strategies did not moderate the relation between occupational stress and burnout. In demographic variables, the variables of age, education, experience and work hours were significant. Younger mental health practitioners scored high on occupational stress, burnout and use of emotion focused coping strategies than older ones. In qualification and experience, less qualified and less experienced practitioners had more occupational stress, burnout and used emotion focused coping strategies than more qualified and more experienced practitioners. Those practitioners whose working hours were less had low occupational stress and burnout and used problem focused coping strategies.

scholarly journals Mental Health Practitioners’ Immediate Practical Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Questionnaire Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon E Reilly ◽  
Katherine L Zane ◽  
William T McCuddy ◽  
Zachary A Soulliard ◽  
David M Scarisbrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
The Future ◽  
Therapeutic Services

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased psychological distress, signaling the need for increased mental health services in the context of stay-at-home policies. OBJECTIVE This study aims to characterize how mental health practitioners have changed their practices during the pandemic. The authors hypothesize that mental health practitioners would increase tele–mental health services and that certain provider types would be better able to adapt to tele–mental health than others. METHODS The study surveyed 903 practitioners, primarily psychologists/doctoral-level (Psych/DL) providers, social workers/master’s-level (SW/ML) providers, and neuropsychologists employed in academic medical centers or private practices. Differences among providers were examined using Bonferroni-adjusted chi-square tests and one-way Bonferroni-adjusted analyses of covariance. RESULTS The majority of the 903 mental health practitioners surveyed rapidly adjusted their practices, predominantly by shifting to tele–mental health appointments (n=729, 80.82%). Whereas 80.44% (n=625) were not using tele–mental health in December 2019, only 22.07% (n=188) were not by late March or early April 2020. Only 2.11% (n=19) reported no COVID-19–related practice adjustments. Two-thirds (596/888, 67.10%) reported providing additional therapeutic services specifically to treat COVID-19–related concerns. Neuropsychologists were less likely and Psych/DL providers and SW/ML providers were more likely than expected to transition to tele–mental health (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Trainees saw fewer patients (<i>P</i>=.01) and worked remotely more than licensed practitioners (<i>P</i>=.03). Despite lower rates of information technology service access (<i>P</i>&lt;.001), private practice providers reported less difficulty implementing tele–mental health than providers in other settings (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Overall, the majority (530/889, 59.62%) were interested in continuing to provide tele–mental health services in the future. CONCLUSIONS The vast majority of mental health providers in this study made practice adjustments in response to COVID-19, predominantly by rapidly transitioning to tele–mental health services. Although the majority reported providing additional therapeutic services specifically to treat COVID-19–related concerns, only a small subset endorsed offering such services to medical providers. This has implications for future practical directions, as frontline workers may begin to seek mental health treatment related to the pandemic. Despite differences in tele–mental health uptake based on provider characteristics, the majority were interested in continuing to provide such services in the future. This may help to expand clinical services to those in need via tele–mental health beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

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