Promoting resilience in the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological interventions for intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians and family members.

Abstract

This contribution draws from the experience of intensive care unit psychologists at 2 frontline hospitals in Milan, Italy, during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this contribution, we describe the main psychological needs observed in clinicians and in the families of COVID-19 patients and illustrate some psychological interventions implemented to respond to these needs. Containing emotions and promoting resilience were the aims of our interventions. In the future, psychological interventions should focus on the elaboration of traumatic experiences and losses.

Psychosocial Challenges Faced by Female Health Care Professionals During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Lahore, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

“…Physical fatigue, psychological vulnerability, (perceived) health risks for the family, lack of adequate training, equipment and facilities in addition to lack of support from society led to undesirable emotions, such as anxiety, distress, and helplessness, which have already been described in previous studies [16,17]. This study shows that HCPs -no matter whether physicians, nurses or allied professionals -had signi cantly higher negative sentiments about personal health directly after the pandemic started.…”

Managing Pandemics—Demands, Resources, and Effective Behaviors Within Crisis Management Teams

“…The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has changed our work life in many ways (e.g., Kniffin, Narayanan, Anseel, Antonakis, Ashford, Bakker, Bamberger, Bapuji, Bhave, Choi, Creary, Demerouti, Flynn, Gelfand, Greer, Johns, Kesebir, Klein, & Lee, 2020; Rudolph, Allan, Clark, Hertel, Hirschi, Kunze, Shockley, Shoss, Sonnentag, & Zacher, 2020), and, for epistemic reasons and to derive practical support strategies, a growing number of studies are addressing the psychological implications of this pandemic. However, while extant research has focused on multiple groups of workers, such as hospital staff, grocery clerks, teleworkers, and delivery drivers (e.g., Bartsch, Weber, Büttgen, & Huber, in press; Brooks, Dunn, Amlôt, Rubin, Greenberg, 2018; Carillo, Cachat‐Rosset, Marsan, Saba, & Klarsfeld, 2020; Lissoni, Del Negro, Brioschi, Casella, Fontana, Bruni, & Lamiani, 2020), so far no study has focused on the task forces that have been installed to manage the pandemic situation. Crisis management teams (CMTs) at the municipal, district, state, and national levels coordinate various prevention, mitigation, and response activities—and they are required to operate quickly and appropriately in an ambiguous, risky, and constantly changing environment.…”

The Critical Need for a Population Health Approach: Addressing the Nation’s Behavioral Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

“…Some of those on the front lines experiencing distress will want and benefit from more focused, brief psychological interventions intended to provide them with skills that enable them to cope with highly stressful work situations (eg, Psychological First Aid, Skills for Psychological Recovery) (23). Unfortunately, many hospitals are not set up to provide this kind of psychological support (24,25).…”