ABSTRACT
The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted individuals' psychological wellbeing resulting in heightened perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. However, a significant issue in accessing psychological care during a lockdown is the lack of access to in-person interventions. In this regard, research has shown the efficacy and utility of psychological app-based interventions. 'Italia Ti Ascolto' (ITA) has been developed as a population tailored internet-based intervention to offer an online professional solution for psychological support needs. The ITA app is available on iOS and Android systems. Users completed a baseline assessment on emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), psychological stress, anxiety, depression, and perceived social support. Participants could select among several one-hour long clinical groups held by expert psychotherapists. After every session, people were asked to complete a quick users' satisfaction survey. Our contribution presents ITA's intervention protocol and discusses preliminary data on psychological variables collected at baseline. Data showed significant associations between emotion regulation strategies, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and level of stress. Moreover, the role of perceived social support is considered. Future developments and implications for clinical practice and treatment are discussed.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has infected thousands of people worldwide, causing social, economic and health impacts. Protective measures with emphasis on mental health were designed to contain the impacts. Objective: we sought to analyze which interventional strategies are being used in the pandemic. Methodology: This systematic review included studies on psychological interventions from the BVS-PSl, LILACS and PubMed databases. Results: Of the 26 articles analyzed, 26.92% were from national journals and 73.07% from international journals. Conclusions: The scarcity of training or lack of experience of professionals regarding ICTs was not an impeditive component for the online services to take place. The population benefited from the rapid response to mental health care offered by the professionals. Training in ICTs needs to occur continuously. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Portuguese) A COVID-19 infectou milhares de pessoas no mundo, causando impactos sociais, economicos e na saude. Medidas protetivas com enfase em saude mental foram elaboradas para conter os impactos. Objetivo: buscou-se analisar quais estrategias interventivas estao sendo usadas na pandemia. Metodologia: esta revisao sistematica incluiu estudos sobre intervencoes psicologicas dos bancos de dados da BVS-PSI, LILACS e PubMed. Resultados: Dos 26 artigos analisados, 26,92% foram de periodicos nacionais e 73,07% de periodicos internacionais. Conclusoes: A escassez de treinamentos ou falta de experiencia dos profissionais acerca das TICs nao foi componente impeditivo para que os atendimentos online acontecessem. A populacao se beneficiou da rapida resposta de assistencia a saude mental oferecida pelos profissionais. Os treinamentos em TICs precisam ocorrer de forma continua. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)