Mental Health Help During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The American Psychiatric Association is providing an online guide to resources to help families, professionals, and community leaders address mental health challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to go directly to the APA website.

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For patients, family members or friends in need of immediate assistance:

  • Disaster Distress Helpline (SAMHSA)
    Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Link)
    Call 800-273-8255 or Chat with Lifeline
  • Crisis Textline (Link)
    Text TALK to 741741
  • Veterans Crisis Line (VA)
    Call 800-273-8255 or text 838255

 

For Families:

 

For Health Care and Community Leaders:

 

For Hospitalists and Primary Care:

 

For Psychiatrists:

With COVID-19 evolving rapidly across the world, APA’s Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters and the APA’s Council on International Psychiatry compiled the following list of resources for psychiatrists. The resources cover not only the physical impact of the coronavirus, but on its potential mental health and psychosocial issues and responses. The resources also include a section on telepsychiatry, to prepare for the possibility of isolation and/or quarantine.

Webinars

APA is producing webinars to provide up-to-date information as the situation evolves.

APA Spring Highlights Meeting 2020

  • Featuring psychiatry’s foremost experts and leaders, including federal mental health agency directors and APA leadership

Recordings and slide downloads from this live, virtual event are now available. Sessions include physician leadership, telepsychiatry, and healthcare worker and organizational sustainment during COVID-19.

Access Recordings

Serious Mental Illness and COVID-19: Tailoring ACT Teams, Group Homes, and Supportive Housing

  • Adina Bridges, LCSW; Kurt Cousins, M.D.; Helle Thorning, Ph.D., M.S., LCSW-R

This free townhall presentation, from a panel of SMI experts, answers questions about arising best practices being implemented by Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, and supporting those in supportive housing or group homes.

Access Recording

How to Address COVID 19 Across Inpatient, Residential and other Non-Ambulatory Care Settings

  • Faculty: Harsh Trivedi, M.D., M.B.A.; Ryan Kimmel, M.D.; Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D.

In this free webinar from APA and the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH), hear from experts about how to manage different types of services, key messages to give to your team leaders, unique challenges for people with SMI, how to handle group therapy, and more.

Access Recording

Telepsychiatry in the Era of COVID-19

  • Faculty: Peter Yellowlees, MBBS, M.D.; John Torous, M.D.

This free webinar from SMI Adviser (APA & SAMHSA) offers learners an overview of how to use telemental health and video visits in the changing landscape surrounding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Access Recording

Managing the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19

  • Faculty: Joshua C. Morganstein, M.D., CAPT; Stephen J. Cozza, MD, COL

This free webinar from APA will outline how psychiatrists can support patients, communicate with family members and children, and be a resource to other providers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Access Recording

 

COVID-19 Psychiatric Practice Guidance

[UPDATED 4/17] APA is tracking guidance released by the Department of Health and Human Services and at the state level related to COVID-19 to assist psychiatrists with providing mental health and substance use services.

View recent changes and guidance impact telehealth, substance use disorders and treatment services, and inpatient psychiatric settings.

Learn More Here

 

APA’s Practice Management HelpLine

If you are an APA member, APA’s Practice Management HelpLine is ready to assist you with your practice management needs. Help is available on how to manage the day-to-day operations of your practice in the midst of this pandemic, including telehealth, coding, documentation, reimbursement, contracting with managed care companies, Medicare, Medicaid, and more.

Learn More Here

 

CDC Information

 

COVID-19 & Mental Health

 

New Telehealth Rules

Rules regarding the practice of telepsychiatry have changed quickly. CMS released guidance on March 17, 2020, that now allows patients to be seen via live videoconferencing in their homes, without having to travel to a qualifying “originating site” for Medicare telehealth encounters, regardless of geographic location.

To learn more about whether telepsychiatry may be a helpful option for your practice, and to access APA’s collection of resources on telepsychiatry, use the links below: