A brief transdiagnostic pandemic mental health maintenance intervention

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as a major national and global disaster. Behavioral health providers are poised to provide psychological crisis interventions to reduce the psychosocial effects. This paper presents a brief transdiagnostic mental health maintenance intervention tailored to treat adults and families with distress symptoms. The intervention components include evidence-based techniques which have been strategically selected to address distress related to the pandemic and to prevent the escalation of distress. The intervention aims to be flexibly incorporated into care based on the provider and needs of the presenting individuals. The intervention incorporates components of evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and associated “third wave” therapies (e.g. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). The intervention can be delivered via telehealth and includes the following modules: 1) Agenda Setting & Avoidance Identification; 2) Responding to Difficult News/Normalizing Reactions; 3) Perspective Taking; 4) Situational Control/Acceptance; 5) Maintaining a Healthy Routine; 6) Coping with Stress; 7) Insomnia Preventions; and 8) Building Resiliency & Hope. The intervention includes a list of home based pleasurable activities, a list of technology modalities to maintain social interactions, and a handout for patients. Research is needed to further test this intervention and assess implementation strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• mental Health
• intervention
• transdiagnostic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health [R25MH083620,T32MH078788,T32CA229114].

Notes on contributors

Trisha Arnold

Trisha Arnold, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow and clinical psychologist at Brown University Alpert Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital. Her research focuses broadly on reducing health disparities and developing clinically informed health interventions, primarily utilizing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, to enhance HIV treatment and prevention among sexual and racial minorities.

Brooke G. Rogers

Brooke G. Rogers, PhD, MPH, is an assistant research professor at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is interested in addressing health disparities through adapting evidence-based psychological interventions for use with traditionally underserved communities. Her work is focused on developing and testing brief interventions for modifying health behaviors, substance use, and emotional symptoms for individuals at high-risk for and living with HIV.

Alyssa L. Norris

Alyssa L. Norris, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at the Miriam Hospital, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, and Staff Psychologist at Women's Medicine Collaborative. Her research focuses on understanding the health effects of sexual violence as well as health disparities associated with sexual orientation and bias-based victimization.

Anna Schierberl Scherr

Anna Schierberl Scherr, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She is in interested in researching the enhancement of treatment outcomes for eating disorders and obesity as well as issues related to clinical training and supervision. She is also an assistant professor (clinical) in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She maintains a clinical practice where she specializes in the treatment of adults with eating disorders as well as individuals with psychiatric concerns and co-occurring physical and substance use struggles.

Kayla Haubrick

Kayla Haubrick, MPH, is a senior research assistant in the Department of Psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital. Her research interests include: fostering harm reduction and stress management among young adults; assessing barriers to health services among stigmatized and underserved populations, specifically for those holding intersectional identities; and exploring the use of current technology in improving access to health resources in rural areas.

Megan E. Renna

Megan E. Renna, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Her research focuses on identifying psychological and biological mechanisms linking depression and anxiety to poor physical health among healthy adults and cancer patients.

Shufang Sun

Shufang Sun, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow and counseling psychologist at Brown University Alpert Medical School. Her research focuses on health promotions with sexual and racial minorities at risk for HIV domestically and globally, culturally adapted treatment, and mindfulness-based interventions for disease prevention among underserved communities.

Margaret M. Danforth

Margaret M. Danforth, PhD, is a clinical associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. She holds a Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and has clinical expertise in the treatment of insomnia in adults. She is committed to teaching clinicians from a variety of backgrounds to deliver evidence based insomnia treatments in the settings in which they practice.

Christina T. Chu

Christina T. Chu, MD, is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown. Her research focuses on adolescent and young adult risk behaviors and the utilization of technology to improve and enhance treatment adherence. She is a board certified psychiatrist with clinical expertise in treating mood, sleep, and attention disorders in adolescents and adults.

Elizabeth S. Silva

Elizabeth S. Silva, BA, is a senior research assistant at The Miriam Hospital. She coordinates several NIH-funded research studies focused on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for men who have sex with men. She is also a HIV/STI testing counselor at the Rhode Island STI Clinic. Previously, she has interned at USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS and CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

Laura B. Whiteley

Laura B. Whiteley, MPH, is a research assistant at The Miriam Hospital. She is interested in researching the intersection between communicable and non-communicable diseases, especially in low-income and vulnerable populations. In September of 2020, she will be a doctoral candidate in the Department of Behavioral and Social Health Sciences at Brown University.

Megan Pinkston

Megan Pinkston, MA, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Medicine at Brown University in Providence, RI. Her research interests include the exploration and development of effective interventions for the syndemics that surround substance use, HIV infection, mental illness, and behavioral medicine concerns. She is also a psychologist and serves as the director of behavioral medicine for the Ryan White Immunology Clinic of The Miriam Hospital. She provides evidence-based therapy to HIV-infected patients who struggle with mental illness, substance use, and behavioral medicine concerns.