The CopeNYP program: A model for brief treatment of psychological distress among healthcare workers and hospital staff

Abstract

In the midst of the Spring 2020 initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, members of the Psychiatry Department of Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rapidly created and implemented a brief, behavioral skills-based intervention program, “CopeNYP”, to address the immediate mental health needs of the employees of the hospital and medical school. We describe the development, implementation and evolution of this telehealth-delivered program staffed primarily by in-house clinical psychologists, postdoctoral fellows, pre-doctoral interns and counselors who were redeployed or volunteered their time to provide urgent support for employees. We discuss the challenges and lessons learned in providing brief, skills-based psychological interventions for employees subjected to chronic stress. As the impact of the pandemic became prolonged, employees faced compounding stressors including social isolation, fear of infection, grief and loss, and sequelae of COVID-19-related illness combined with work-related demands. Our goal is to present our program design, implementation, and utilization as a blueprint for other institutions that would like to develop an evidence-based clinician-staffed psychological intervention program to support ongoing employee mental health needs.

Providers’ perspectives on implementing resilience coaching for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Difficulties expressed by some Resilience Coaches in providing support when they themselves felt burnt out, which was echoed in other literature [ 13 , 14 , 40 , 51 ], suggests a need for a large roster of providers, so coaches may take breaks, or work in paired contexts. Interestingly, these recommendations echo some of those developed for frontline HCWs in literature, further emphasizing that support providers are also HCWs working in distressing conditions, whose experiences merit attention [ 1 – 5 , 13 , 14 , 26 , 51 ].…”

“…In Resilience Coaching, coaches found that in addition to the peer support meetings, working in pairs enabled a shared experience that helped spread the logistical burden and facilitated a system of support. Other literature notes the importance of peer support for mental health providers, whether structured or ad hoc [ 13 , 14 , 51 ]. Another valuable approach to supporting providers may be having access to personal mentors who can debrief following difficult situations [ 13 , 44 ].…”

“…This and other research suggests hospitals implementing staff support programs should consider developing training sessions or documents to help improve confidence of providers, and allow time for regular peer support meetings between providers, or develop other mechanisms for them to feel connected to each other [ 13 , 14 , 24 – 27 , 51 ]. Difficulties expressed by some Resilience Coaches in providing support when they themselves felt burnt out, which was echoed in other literature [ 13 , 14 , 40 , 51 ], suggests a need for a large roster of providers, so coaches may take breaks, or work in paired contexts. Interestingly, these recommendations echo some of those developed for frontline HCWs in literature, further emphasizing that support providers are also HCWs working in distressing conditions, whose experiences merit attention [ 1 – 5 , 13 , 14 , 26 , 51 ].…”

Multinational perspectives on changes to psychiatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey of practicing psychiatrists

“…This observation is in line with earlier findings indicating paradoxical reluctance of physicians to seek help for their mental health problems [ 29 ]. These findings underscore the importance of programs targeted at the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare workers around the world that are at risk of various presentations of adjustment disorders, including burnout [ 30 ].…”