Practice Update – Social-psychological emergency response during Wuhan lockdown: Internet-based crisis intervention

ABSTRACT

Wuhan was completely locked down in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its residents were isolated, depressed. They were badly in need of information, advice, and psychological support. However, social and psychological services could only be provided by distance. The Social Workers Across Borders trained and supervised more than 120 volunteers to offer e-counselling services through WeChat platforms. The digital environment was very different from real life or even hotline settings. Wechat platforms, similar to that of WhatsApp, enabled multi-players, multi-media, and multidirectional exchanges for as many as 500 participants. They could raise questions, share information and offer opinions. Volunteers, composed of medical students, psychological counsellors, social workers, community workers, and lay community volunteers, were understandably not ready for the challenge. The teams found that traditional crisis intervention skills training, designed for face-to-face emotional support, was no longer sufficient to ensure satisfactory results in the digital environments. The current study, based on the analysis of the supervision records of the volunteers, discussed the hindering factors in providing Social Psychological e-services and proposed their respective solutions. A new mode of Social Psychological Emergency Response has emerged and our traditional training for respective responders needs to be revolutionized © The Author(s) 2022