Psychiatric/Behavioral

This article in the journal Work and Occupations examines disability-based differences in the joint significance of discrimination and work precarity during the pandemic for mental health. Survey analysis found that precarious employment, greater discimination, and disability independently predict depressive symptoms. Further, in the context of greater discrimination, more precarious employment is found to have greater significance for people with disabilities compared to those who are not currently disabled.

This Psychiatric Services brief report describes a study that followed up with peer support specialists (PSSs) responding to an earlier survey to assess the pandemic’s continued employment and personal effects. A total of 496 PSSs completed both surveys. Unemployment remained at 7%. The proportion with full-time employment increased by December, but financial instability also increased. Tasks involving individual support and group facilitation, which had decreased significantly, rebounded somewhat by December, when nearly all PSSs (86%) reported having some new tasks.

In this episode of the ADA Live! Podcast, Dr. Lin Hogan offers a clinical perspective on how COVID has impacted our mental health.

An article published in Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. Researchers surveyed 270 working adults with psychiatric disabilities in April and May 2020. This is the first study to suggest the important role that work played for people with preexisting behavioral health disorders during the pandemic, with both positive and negative influences, and important implications for services and supports. 

The guide shares information about the benefits of engaging in family leisure and includes resources for planning memorable activities at home. The guide also provides comics that serve as examples of family leisure planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report highlights current use of telemental health services (mental health services provided by phone or Internet), specific mental health disorders being reported and treated using telemental services during the pandemic, comorbid mental health concerns among individuals with other disabilities, and accessibility to telemental health services.

This Taking Issue segment appeared in the September 2020 issue of the Journal Psychiatric Services. The authors ask what can be done to support people with serious mental illness in the long term as they resume lives in an uncertain society with confusing, often contradictory guidelines for avoiding infection and preventing the spread of the virus to others. As society reopens, closes, and reopens again, how can resumption of community life be facilitated for people with serious mental illnesses?

Study examined the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the lives of people with mental health disorders. The results showed that more than one-third (35.1 percent) screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder and over one-quarter (29.6 percent) screened positive for major depressive disorder. The majority reported pandemic-related changes in eating and sleeping patterns and exposure to COVID-19 infection.

Self-Management Education and Support Referral Algorithm is designed to help primary care providers follow guidelines recommended by the Institute of Medicine to choose a self-management program to meet their patients’ needs at different stages of emotional distress. The algorithm identifies what kinds of knowledge patients need, the self-management programs that provide it, and how to locate these programs in their local communities.

This collection offers a collection of wellness self-management strategies and resources for people with serious mental illness. Learn how to manage stress, cope with anxiety, combat loneliness, or explore virtual distractions with art, music, museum tours, and more. The collection also includes resources for physical health and wellness, supports for behavioral health providers and other support personnel, and resources to help children, teens, and young adults cope during the outbreak.