The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health Care of Children and Adolescents in Switzerland: Results of a Survey among Mental Health Care Professionals after One Year of COVID-19

Abstract

Background: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment demand and supply in children and adolescents with mental disorders during the first year of the pandemic from the perspective of child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists in Switzerland. Methods: The survey was conducted anonymously, in German or French and online in April/May 2021. Mental health professionals working in child and adolescent psychiatry, psychotherapy services or independent practices were contacted by email. Results: N = 454 professionals completed the survey (176 child and adolescent psychiatrists and 276 psychologists). After an initial period of decreased demand during the lockdown in spring 2020, requests for treatment increased, considerably exceeding the demand pre-pandemic and reaching a peak in January/February/March 2021. The vast majority of professionals (78.2%) estimated that there was currently too little supply during the pandemic, which differed from the evaluation of the pre-pandemic situation (37%). A total of 65% of participants indicated that waiting time until the initiation of treatment increased during the pandemic, 41% reported their current workload to be somewhat higher and 44.5% much higher. Conclusions: For the first pandemic year, youth mental health professionals reported a large increase in the treatment demand and waiting time and a worrisome overload of treatment services.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and family situation of clinically referred children and adolescents in Switzerland: results of a survey among mental health care professionals after 1 year of COVID-19

“…This probably reflects the fact that usually the more severe, complex, or acute cases are seen and subsequently treated in clinics for child and adolescent psychiatry rather than in independent practice settings. As emergencies dramatically increased during the corona crisis in Switzerland among children and adolescents with mental health problems (Berger et al 2022 ; Werling et al 2022b ), along with a shortage of treatment places and longer waiting time before admission to treatment, many mental health professionals working in independent practice must have been confronted with severe cases, which in normal times would rather have been treated in clinics for child and adolescent psychiatry. This was also reported in the free text sections.…”

“…A small group of health professionals with no published email address was contacted by letter, which included a QR code leading to the online survey. This survey for mental health professionals was developed as a complement and follow-up to surveys for patients and their parents on the impact of the pandemic conducted by the authors (Werling et al 2021a , b ; Werling et al 2022a , b ). The online survey was available in German and French, which are the two most frequently spoken languages in Switzerland (main languages for approximately 85% of inhabitants).…”

“…The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of clinically referred children and adolescents and on the situation of their families during the first year of pandemic from the perspective of mental health professionals for children and adolescents. Here, we focus on the mental health-related consequences of the pandemic for patients and their families, while consequences for treatment supply and the situation of mental health professionals have been presented elsewhere (Werling et al 2022b ). In the present study we investigated whether mental health professionals had observed: – Disorder-specific changes in the frequency of referrals during the pandemic, – Mental disorders apparently caused or triggered by the pandemic, including observed changes in patients’ digital media-related behavior during the pandemic, – Mental health problems that seemed specific for the pandemic or had not been encountered before in this form or intensity, – Subgroups of patients who had been particularly affected by the pandemic, – Peaks in the severity of psychological burden experienced in the course of the first year of the pandemic.…”

Coping with Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders among University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Relation to Their Lifestyle Habits

“…Research that dealt with young people, as a particularly sensitive group, from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until today, have produced a lot of information about significantly lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL), damaged relationships with friends and reduced social contacts, increased number of arguments within families, difficulties with online learning and keeping up with classes, which are all triggers for mental health problems. Many of them studied the occurrence of emotional symptoms, behavioral problems, hyperactivity and problems with peers, as well as self-reported anxiety, depressive symptoms and psychosomatic complaints, such as headaches, stomach aches, feeling low or sleeping problems [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Mental Health Emergency

“… 9 On the other hand, child and adolescent mental health professionals reported that their workload increased and patient treatment was delayed compared to the pre-pandemic period. 10 Therefore, while the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the emergence of new psychological struggles, it also limited access to treatment for vulnerable populations who already had mental health problems. 11 …”