Managing a COVID-Positive health-care worker with recent suicide attempt through telepsychiatry

Guiding future research on psychological interventions in people with COVID-19 and post COVID syndrome and comorbid emotional disorders based on a systematic review

“…Most of the studies had been conducted in China ( n = 15) ( 30 , 33 , 34 , 45 , 50 , 52–55 , 63 , 64 , 66–69 ), Iran ( n = 6) ( 38 , 47 , 48 , 58 , 61 , 62 ), Italy ( n = 5) ( 29 , 31 , 41 , 44 , 57 ), India ( n = 4) ( 36 , 46 , 56 , 59 ), United States ( n = 2) ( 28 , 35 ), and Korea ( n = 2) ( 49 , 65 ). The remaining studies had been developed in Saudi Arabia ( n = 1) ( 27 ), Nigeria ( n = 1) ( 32 ), Indonesia ( n = 1) ( 39 ), France ( n = 1) ( 42 ), Turkey ( n = 1) ( 43 ), Thailand ( n = 1) ( 51 ), Latvia ( n = 1) ( 40 ), Ghana ( n = 1) ( 37 ), and Poland ( n = 1) ( 60 ).…”

“…Regarding emotional disorders or symptoms addressed, the vast majority of studies were focused on depressive symptoms alone ( 30 ) or combined with anxiety ( n = 15) ( 33 , 34 , 40–42 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 50–52 , 55–57 , 60 ), panic attacks ( n = 6) ( 59 , 62 , 64 , 66–68 ), suicidal ideation or self-harming attempts ( n = 2) ( 36 , 37 ) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ( n = 1) ( 38 ). On the other hand, six studies were focused on patients who presented with anxiety symptoms alone ( 43 , 46 , 53 , 54 , 58 , 61 ) or combined it with panic attacks ( 29 , 35 ).…”

“…The interventions with less representation were those based on music therapy ( 39 , 40 ); compassion ( 48 ); positive psychology with hypnosis and Ericksonian principles ( 60 , 69 ), narrative exposure therapy ( 45 ), EMDR ( 31 , 42 ) and imagination ( 58 ). Four case studies ( 30 , 32 , 35 , 36 ) and two pre-post studies without control group ( 63 , 65 ) did not provide information about the type of psychotherapy that was applied. One study ( 37 ) described two different psychological programs, one of them based on CBT and the other focused on social support, positive recovery and relaxation training.…”

“…The frequency of sessions also showed great variability. Some studies offered daily ( 36 , 43 , 52 , 61 ) or weekly sessions ( 28 , 31 ) while others proposed 2–3 sessions per week ( 44 , 48 , 57 , 67 ). Again, some inconclusive results were found in the sessions duration, which ranged from 5–10 min ( 46 , 47 , 55 , 56 ) to 60–90 min ( 44 , 45 , 48 ) ( Tables 1 , 2 ).…”

“…Other interventions used technology to provide the entire intervention. For example, seven studies used computerized programs which required the use of Internet-based solutions ( 45 , 55 , 57 , 64 ) or videoconferencing ( 29 , 36 , 41 ). Four programs used group social messaging platforms ( 51 , 54 , 61 , 68 ) and three studies used phone calls ( 35 , 49 , 65 ).…”