The Role of Online Psychotherapy in COVID-19: An Evidence Based Clinical Review
Keywords:
anxiety, COVID-19, depression, online, teleconsultationAbstract
Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease that is easily widespread and has clinical manifestations as mild, moderate, or severe disease. COVID-19 patients are required to be isolated during treatment to reduce transmission. This can cause anxiety and depression, which in turn worsens the patient’s illness. Providing supportive psychotherapy can help provide a feeling of safety, comfort and calm for patients. The choice of method in providing supportive psychotherapy can be done online/teleconsultation or internet-based. This clinical review aims to determine the effect of online teleconsultation or internet-based psychotherapy on COVID-19 patients. Methods: A systematic search was performed using online databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane, EBSCO/CINAHL and ProQuest. The identified articles were screened using eligibility criteria. There were 2 studies (Zhou et al, and Wei et al) which were analyzed critically using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Results: Both studies showed that management of psychotherapy through teleconsultation or internet-based on COVID-19 patients can help relieve the patient’s psychological symptoms. Zhou et al studied 63 suspected COVID-19 with 23.8% (n = 15) having a Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) score of 8 or more. There was a significant decrease in HADS-A nxiety (HADS-A) scores (p <0.01) and HADS-Depression (HADS-D) scores (p <0.01) in 15 patients, and from the overall HADS scores (p < 0.01). Wei et al. Showed 17-HAMD and HAMA scores in the online psychological intervention group also showed a significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to controls. Conclusion: Psychotherapy through online teleconsultation or internet-based on COVID-19 patients can help relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression and teleconsultation and also effective in dealing with psychological complications in patients with COVID-19.References
Pascarella G, Strumia A, Piliego C, et al. COVID-19 diagnosis and management: a comprehensive review. J Intern Med. 2020;288(2):192-206.
Coronavirus. Available online on: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/. Accessed 29th Desember 2020.
Salari N, Hosseinian-Far A, Jalali R, et al. Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Glob Health. 2020;16:57.
Xiang YT, Yang Y, Li W, et al. Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):228-9.
Wright JH, Caudill R. Remote treatment delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychother Psychosom. 2020. DOI: 10.1159/000507376.
Siwek J, Gourlay ML, David C. Slawson DC, Shaughnessy AF. How to write an evidence-based clinical review article. Am Fam Physician. 2002; 65(2):251-8.
Hollowaye S, Peart J. Evidence-based reviews: principles and methodological considerations. Wounds UK . 2018;14 (5):26-32.
Zhou L, Xie R-h, Yang X, et al. Feasibility and preliminary results of effectiveness of social media-based intervention on the psychological well-being of suspected COVID-19 cases during quarantine. Can J Psychiatry. 2020:0706743720932041.
Wei N, Huang B, Lu S, et al. Efficacy of internet-based integrated intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19. Biomed Biotechnol. 2020;21(5):400-4.
Lakhan R, Agrawal A, Sharma M. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress during COVID-19 pandemic. J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2020;11(4):519.
Zarghami A, Farjam M, Fakhraei B, Hashemzadeh K, Yazdanpanah MH. A report of the telepsychiatric evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 patients. Telemed J e-Health. 2020;26(12):1461-5.
Andersson G, Cuijpers P, Carlbring P, et al. Guided internet-based vs. face-to-face cognitive behavior therapy for psychiatric and somatic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. World Psychiatry. 2014;13(3):288-95.
Schröder J, Berger T, Westermann S, et al. Internet interventions for depression: new developments. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2016;18(2):203-12.
Smith A, Thomas E, Snoswell C. Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)[e-pub ahead of print]. J Telemed Telecare. https://doi. org/10.1177/1357633X20916567. Accessed May. 2020;12.
Zhou X, Snoswell CL, Harding LE, et al. The role of telehealth in reducing the mental health burden from COVID-19. Telemed e-Health. 2020;26(4):377-9.
Smith EM. Ethnic minorities: Life stress, social support, and mental health issues. Counsel Psychol. 1985;13(4):537-79.
Benfante A, Di Tella M, Romeo A, Castelli L. Traumatic stress in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a review of the immediate impact. Front Psychol. 2020;11:2816.
Turgoose D, Ashwick R, Murphy D. Systematic review of lessons learned from delivering tele-therapy to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. J Telemed Telecare. 2018;24(9):575-85.
Backhaus A, Agha Z, Maglione ML, et al. Videoconferencing psychotherapy: a systematic review. Psychol Services. 2012;9(2):111.
Kauer SD, Mangan C, Sanci L. Do online mental health services improve help-seeking for young people? A systematic review. J Med Int Res. 2014;16(3):e66.
Kerst A, Zielasek J, Gaebel W. Smartphone applications for depression: a systematic literature review and a survey of health care professionals’ attitudes towards their use in clinical practice. Eur Arch Psych Clin Neurosci. 2020;270(2):139-52.
Torniainen-Holm M, Pankakoski M, Lehto T, et al. The effectiveness of email-based exercises in promoting psychological wellbeing and healthy lifestyle: a two-year follow-up study. BMC Psychol. 2016;4(1):21.
Peralta EA, Taveras M. Effectiveness of teleconsultation use in access to mental health services during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the Dominican Republic. Indian journal of psychiatry. 2020;62(Suppl 3):S492.
Pajević I, Hasanović M, Avdibegović E, Džubur-Kulenović A, Burgić-Radmanović M, Babić D, Mehić-Basara N, Zivlak-Radulović N, Račetović G. Organization of mental healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Indian J Psychiatry. 2020;62(Suppl 3): S479.
Naik SS, Rahul P, Harihara S, et al. Telephonic follow-up during COVID-19 to maintain continuity of care for persons with psychiatric disorders. Asian J Psychiatry. 2021;57:102564.
Looi JC, Allison S, Bastiampillai T, Pring W, Reay R, Kisely SR. Increased Australian outpatient private practice psychiatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic: usage of new MBS-telehealth item and face-to-face psychiatrist office-based services in Quarter 3, 2020. Australasian Psychiatry. 2021;29(2):194-9.
Diwan MN, Awan HA, Aamir A, De Filippis R, Ullah I. Telepsychiatry in low-and middle-income countries during COVID-19: Pandemic, barriers, and road model. J Nervous Mental Dis. 2021;209(2):144.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright
The authors who publish in this journal agree to the following requirements:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See The Effect of Open Access)
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.