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.
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:
- Coronavirus and Mental Health: Taking Care of Ourselves During Infectious Disease Outbreaks (APA)
- Working Remotely During COVID-19: Your Mental Health and Well-being (APA Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, CWMH)
- Taking Care of Family Well-Being (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, NCTSN)
- Supporting Homebound Children During COVID-19 (CSTS)
- Supporting Your Family During Quarantine or Isolation: Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation during an Infectious Disease Outbreak (SAMHSA)
- AACAP’s COVID-19 Resource Library (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry)
- Be Aware of Scams
Consumers and healthcare facilities have been targeted by scammers pretending to be representatives of CDC or WHO and asking for personal information, donations, etc. - Finding the Right Words to Talk with Children and Teens about Coronavirus (CSTS)
- Discussing Coronavirus with your Children (CSTS)
- Tips for Coping when Quarantined with COVID-19 Family Members (CSTS)
- When Family Members are Hospitalized due to COVID-19 (CSTS)
- COVID Coach App – For coping, self-care, and goal directed efforts for a general audience during the COVID-19 pandemic, developed by The National Center for PTSD (U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs)
For Health Care and Community Leaders:
- Grief Leadership During COVIC-19 (CSTS)
- Coronavirus and Mental Health: Taking Care of Ourselves During Infectious Disease Outbreaks (APA)
- Working Remotely During COVID-19: Your Mental Health and Well-being (APA Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, CWMH)
- Helping People Manage Stress Associated with the COVID-19 Virus Outbreak (National Center for PTSD)
- How Public Health Leaders Can Support Communities Dealing with Quarantine (CSTS)
- Health Risk and Crisis Communication to Enhance Community Wellness (CSTS)
- Addressing Stigma Associated with COVID-19 (World Health Organization)
For Hospitalists and Primary Care:
- Psychological Effects of Quarantine During the Coronavirus Outbreak: What Public Health Leaders Need to Know (CSTS)
- Leaders’ Guide to Risk Communication in the Face of Coronavirus and Other Emerging Public Health Threats (CSTS)
- Mental Health and Behavioral Guidelines for Preparedness and Response to Coronavirus and other Emerging Infectious Outbreaks (CSTS)
- Grief Leadership during COVID-19 (CSTS)
- Getting Better Sleep During COVID-19: A Guide for Hospital Workers (CSTS)
- Notifying Families After a COVID-19 Death (CSTS)
- Supporting Families of Healthcare Workers Exposed to COVID-19 (CSTS)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CDC Information
- What you need to know
- Guidance on prevention and control
- Guidance for travelers
- Coronavirus Stigma and Resilience
- Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19
COVID-19 & Mental Health
- Guidance Document – Electroconvulsive Therapy as an Essential Procedure (APA)
- Guidance Document – Use of Long-acting Injectables as a Clinically Necessary Treatment (APA)
- Patients With SMI in the Age of COVID-19: What Psychiatrists Need to Know (APA)
- Coronavirus and Mental Health: Taking Care of Ourselves During Infectious Disease Outbreaks (APA)
- Taking Care of Patients During the Coronavirus Outbreak: A Guide for Psychiatrists (Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, CSTS)
- Helping Patients Manage the Psychological Effects of Quarantine and Isolation (CSTS)
- How Healthcare Personnel Can Take Care of Themselves (CSTS)
- Supporting the Mental Health of Patients During COVID-19: A Guide for Healthcare Personnel (CSTS)
- Care for Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 (JAMA Insights: Clinical Update, March 11, 2020)
- Tips For Social Distancing, Quarantine, And Isolation During An Infectious Disease Outbreak (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA)
- Mitigating Risks for Contagion Stigma (APA Blog)
- Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (JAMA Network Open)
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations During the COVID-19 Outbreak (World Health Organization)
- Disaster Psychiatry and Behavioral Health: From War and Terrorism to Earthquakes… and Coronavirus -Finding Structure in Chaos (Boston Veterans Affairs Grand Rounds)
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:
- APA Information on New Telehealth Rules (New guidance from CMS, updated 4/6/20)
- APA Telepsychiatry Toolkit
- Best Practices in Videoconferencing-Based Telemental Health Guide (APA and American Telemedicine Association)
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