The Covid-19 crisis has clarified the demand for an ultra-brief single-session, online, theory-led, empirically supported, psychological intervention for managing stress and improving well-being, especially for people within organizational settings. We designed and delivered “4Ds for Dealing with Distress” during the crisis to address this need. 4Ds unifies a spectrum of familiar emotion regulation strategies, resilience exercises, and problem-solving approaches using perceptual control theory and distils them into a simple four-component rubric (Distract–Dilute–Develop–Discover). In essence, the aim is to reduce distress and restore wellbeing, both in the present moment through current actions (distract or dilute), and through expressing longer-term goal conflicts (e.g., through talking, writing, and drawing) to discover new perspectives that arise spontaneously after sufficient time and consideration. The intervention is user-led in that it draws on users’ own idiosyncratic and pre-existing experiences, knowledge, skills and resources to help them apply an approach, or combination of approaches, that are proportionate and timed to the nature and context of the stress they are experiencing. In this article we review the empirical basis of the approach within experimental, social, biological and clinical psychology, illustrate the novel and time-efficient delivery format, describe its relevance to sports and exercise, summarise feedback from the recipients of the intervention to date, and describe the directions for future evaluation.

UK National Guidelines stress the importance of reducing waiting times for mental health assessments and interventions for children. They stress the importance of early help, multidisciplinary working, and collaboration with families regarding treatment plans. We piloted a new assessment model (CARM) within a CAMHS service to: reduce non-attendance rates and subsequently waiting times; increase staff and patient satisfaction; and improve the quality of assessment. All waiting list patients and new referrals over a three-month period were contacted to self-book an hour session to meet two clinicians who utilised collaborative reflection and formulation to produce a care plan (CARM). Results revealed that non-attendance rates dropped from 33% over the month prior to CARM to 7% during CARM. Satisfaction levels were high. Qualitative feedback regarding satisfaction revealed the most common themes was feeling listened to and having the opportunity to listen to staff reflections. The themes of staff satisfaction included ‘feeling more supported’ and ‘feeling safer in their decision making’. All assessments were completed in the one appointment. A formulation-driven care plan was developed and discussed with the family. This approach has the potential to make services more effective, efficient and satisfying for both staff and families.