Behavioral Health and Response for COVID-19

Hansel, Tonya Cross; Saltzman, Leia Y.; Bordnick, Patrick S.

Research from financial stress, disasters, pandemics, and other extreme events, suggests that behavioral health will suffer, including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Furthermore, these symptoms are likely to exacerbate alcohol or drug use, especially for those vulnerable to relapse. The nature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vast reach of the virus, leave many unknows for the repercussions on behavioral health, yet existing research suggests that behavioral health concerns should take a primary role in response to the pandemic. We propose a 4-step services system designed for implementation with a variety of different groups and reserves limited clinical services for the most extreme reactions. While we can expect symptoms to remit overtime, many will also have longer-term or more severe concerns. Behavioral health interventions will likely need to change overtime and different types of interventions should be considered for different target groups, such as for those who recover from COVID-19, health-care professionals, and essential personnel; and the general public either due to loss of loved ones or significant life disruption. The important thing is to have a systematic plan to support behavioral health and to engage citizens in prevention and doing their part in recovery by staying home and protecting others.