Psychological health important during the Covid-19 process

Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Psychology Department Academic Staff Assist. Prof. Dr. Manolya Çalışır, advising that more than 171 million people to date have contracted the coronavirus, while more than 3.5 million people have lost their lives, went on to state that while the COVID-19 pandemic has created medical, economic, and social difficulties, the psychological health needs that have been experienced due to the pandemic should not be disregarded.

Stating that the first interventions for the pandemic began with the protection and supply of hospital sources such as virology, epidemiology, and molecular biology, Assist. Prof. Dr. Çalışır noted that the psychological health needs that developed in connection with COVID-19, should be closely observed.

Expressing that as well as the physical risks that developed due to the contagion, also experienced was uncertainty, social isolation, financial losses, changes in daily life, loss of loved one and even changes in the ways of grieving in the face of loss, Çalışır went on to advise, “All of these have increased the level of stress upon the society at an important level”.

Indicating that from childhood to late adulthood within the development process, different age groups were affected differently from the pandemic, Assist. Prof. Dr. Çalışır continued, “Practical scientific fields such as clinical psychology are critically important in relation to the innovative approaches they will develop in dealing with the weight of the increasing mental health issues”

In this context, pointing out that it is necessary to go beyond the traditional methods in clinical psychology that are applied in dealing with stress management, anxiety disorders, depression, abuse of substances, traumatic stress symptoms, and suicidal tendencies, Çalışır further expressed that online services, such as tele-health should become more widespread, or scanning and prevention efforts should be designed to protect and develop the psychological health of the society.