The impact of COVID-19 on psychiatric and mental health services in Europe: suffering experienced by professionals

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted intensive care units, but all healthcare services generally. This PsyGipo2C project specifically investigates how psychiatry and mental health professionals have been affected by the reorganizations and constraints imposed, which have reshaped their often already difficult working conditions. Methods Our research combined quantitative and qualitative methods, surveying and interviewing health professionals of all occupations working in psychiatric and mental health services. A questionnaire was completed by 1241 professionals from 10 European countries, and 13 group interviews were conducted across 5 countries. In addition to this, 31 individual interviews were conducted in Belgium and France. Results Among the questionnaire respondents, 70.2% felt that their workload had increased, particularly due to their tasks being diversified and due to increased complexity in the provision of care. 48.9% felt that finding a work-life balance had become more difficult, and 59.5% felt their health had been affected by the crisis. The impact of the health crisis nevertheless varied across professions: our data provides insight into how the health measures have had a differential impact on professional tasks and roles across the various categories of occupations, obliging professionals to make various adaptations. The distress incurred has been linked not only to these new constraints in their work, but also to the combination of these with other pressures in their personal lives, which has consequently compromised their well-being and their ability to cope with multiple demands. Discussion The COVID-19 health crisis has had varying impacts depending on the profession and access to remote work, sometimes leading to conflicts within the teams. The suffering expressed by the professionals was tied to their values and patterns of investment in work. Our research also highlights how these professionals made little use of the psychological supports offered, probably due to a reluctance to acknowledge that their mental health was affected.

Are we ready for Telepsychiatry? Benefits and challenges of digital psychotherapy

“…A factor significantly influencing the accelerated development of telemedicine services was the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited access to all medical services, not just psychiatric ones. Closure of facilities, and reduction of interpersonal contacts due to the risk of virus transmission forced people to look for new forms of service delivery to maintain the continuity of treatment [14][15][16][17].…”

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“…Even with expansion of telehealth, treatment capacity may have shrunk in the past few years for a variety of reasons ( e.g. , pandemic-related changes in work environments, work-life balance, and burnout) (Gourret Baumgart et al, 2021; Johnson et al, 2021; Kane et al, 2022). Moreover, shifts in the mental health system that began in the pandemic have continued, with worsening access to outpatient and inpatient care.…”

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“…The COVID-19 pandemic is adding further damage to the mental health of healthcare professionals, who especially at the onset of the health crisis were overwhelmed by the exponential increase in workload, with a lack of personal equipment and fear of infection [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. All of these elements have contributed to the increasing prevalence of mental health problems and mental disorders in this special target population [ 47 ].…”