There’s no doubt early in the pandemic, healthcare workers were pushed to their limits. Crowded hospitals required doctors andnursesto work long hours caring for patients suffering from an unprecedented and unpredictable COVID-19 virus. The pressure and demands of the situation put a physical and mental strain on those seeing patients.
According to a 2021 survey published in theJournal of General Internal Medicineof more than 500 healthcare workers andfirst responders, a substantial majority of respondents reported experiencing clinically significant psychiatric symptoms, including:
To support healthcare workers' mental health during the pandemic, many people were inspired to establish organizations. Below are three that sprung up over the past few years and continue to make a difference in the lives of doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers bearing the brunt of caring for the public during the ebb and flow of the pandemic.
Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation
When Breen called her sister Jennifer to share that she was overwhelmed and exhausted to the point that she couldn’t get out of her chair, Jennifer and her husband Corey Feist went to Manhattan and took Breen to amental health hospital, where she stayed for 10 days, receiving the first mental health treatment of her lifetime. A few days into her stay, Breen called her sister to express concern that her career as a physician was ruined because she was receiving mental health treatment.
Corey Feist
Toll of Physicians' Mental HealthAccording to a 2022 Medscapereport, when physicians were asked why they have not sought help for burnout or depression, their top reasons were:I can deal with this without help from a professional (49%)Don’t want to risk disclosure to medical board (43%)Concerned about it being on my insurance record (32%)Concerned about my colleagues finding out (22%)
Toll of Physicians' Mental Health
According to a 2022 Medscapereport, when physicians were asked why they have not sought help for burnout or depression, their top reasons were:I can deal with this without help from a professional (49%)Don’t want to risk disclosure to medical board (43%)Concerned about it being on my insurance record (32%)Concerned about my colleagues finding out (22%)
According to a 2022 Medscapereport, when physicians were asked why they have not sought help for burnout or depression, their top reasons were:
After Breen’s death, the Feists went on the “Today” show to spread awareness about themental health strain healthcare workers faced during the pandemic. After the show, they received an outpouring of support from the healthcare workforce, thanking them for sharing Breen’s story. One sentiment they heard often was the need for change when it comes to questions on licensure applications and hospital credentialing applications that ask about a person’s prior mental healthhistory.
“While Lorna is our beacon and inspiration, we started the organization because we heard from thehealthcare force (hundreds) after she died that something needed to change,” said Feist. “Now, what we have is a huge subsection of our healthcare workforce who has experienced repetitive trauma for two years. For some of them, this has been 9/11 every day for two years, and because of their fear of repercussions to continue working, they are going to suffer in silence.”
On March 18, 2022, the foundation’s work helped pass theDr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which establishes grants and requires other activities to improve mental and behavioral health among healthcare providers.
The more we talk about mental health, the more we normalize it and give others permission to speak. Lorna was the toughest person I knew in the world and she was a seasoned physician in New York. She worked through Ebola in New York and other crises. This wasn’t about being tough.
He added that many solutions to the problem are complex, but that small actions can help.
“[Like] someone being vulnerable and recognizing the need for self-care, and peer support (recognizing a colleague who needs support) that don’t cost money. We need to make it clear that you care for yourself and colleagues just as you would your patients,” he said.
The foundation’s next mission is to raise awareness among medical licensing boards, nursing boards, and hospital systems about the impact of including mental health questions on applications. They hope licensing boards will change questions to reflect current mental health impairment and exclude past ones.
“We are asking all hospitals in this country to simply publish to their workforce that they canget mental health support without repercussions, which can be a life-saving opportunity for all of the healthcare community,” said Feist.
3 Organizations Providing a Free Lifeline for Healthcare Workers
The Emotional PPE Project
In March 2020, Ariel Brown, PhD, neuroscientist, was talking to her neighbor and friend Daniel Saddawi-Konefka, MD, critical care physician and anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, when she was moved to help with the COVID crisis.
“Dr. Dan…is responsible for directing [about] 100 anesthesiology residents and was struggling with the best way to support them during the onslaught of COVID," said Brown. “I wanted to help and so I put out a call on social media to see if any of the therapists in my network wanted to volunteer some of their time to help these folks who were fighting on the frontline of the pandemic.”
The therapists raised their hands in droves to offer free therapy to healthcare workers. WhenBrown passed on their contact information to the residents, many reached out to therapists for helpat a no-cost, no-insurance, streamlined option for healthcare workers to seek mental health care.
Ariel Brown, PhD, neuroscientistBecause of the goodwill of the mental health provider community and because of the great need in the healthcare worker community, things grew very quickly. I put together a team, which I led to set up to be able to scale. Two years later, we are a national nonprofit organization that has over 700 volunteer therapists and has served over 2,000 healthcare workers across the nation.
Ariel Brown, PhD, neuroscientist
Because of the goodwill of the mental health provider community and because of the great need in the healthcare worker community, things grew very quickly. I put together a team, which I led to set up to be able to scale. Two years later, we are a national nonprofit organization that has over 700 volunteer therapists and has served over 2,000 healthcare workers across the nation.
“Overall, we seek to take away every barrier that we can so that the folks experiencing unprecedented stress and trauma can have a streamlined connection with someone that can help,” said Brown.
The Emotional PPE Project is also involved in research and advocacy work similar to that of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, includingworking to reform licensing practices to protect the mental health of physicians.
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Therapy Aid Coalition
As the world started to shut down due to COVID-19 in March of 2020, Jennifer Silacci, LCSW, psychotherapist, felt grateful she could work from home and shelter in place although anxious about the virus.
Jennifer Silacci, LCSW, psychotherapistI wondered, if those of us at home felt so overwhelmed, how were those on the frontlines coping? How were they processing the anxiety around constant exposure to a potentially deadly virus? And what could I do to help them?
Jennifer Silacci, LCSW, psychotherapist
I wondered, if those of us at home felt so overwhelmed, how were those on the frontlines coping? How were they processing the anxiety around constant exposure to a potentially deadly virus? And what could I do to help them?
She decided to offerfree and low-cost therapysessions to healthcare workers and asked her colleagues if they would join her. Word spread, and before she knew it, thousands of volunteer therapists from across the country joined Silacci.
Within months of putting out the initial call, Silacci established theTherapy Aid Coalition,now made up of over 3,000 licensed therapists, who offered free and low-cost online therapy toessential workersin the United States.
Because confidentiality is a concern for many healthcare professionals, and many do not want to utilizeemployee assistance programs (EAPs), health insurance, or support and resources from their hospitals and clinics, Silacci said her service offers them the opportunity to connect with a therapist anonymously. Over the past two years, the program has served thousands of essential workers throughout the country.
“I think the pandemic and the amazing work of so many nonprofits…have shed light on the need for mental health support, destigmatization, and advocacy for mental wellness within the healthcare professions,” she said.
Because the Therapy Aid Coalition continues to receive hundreds of requests monthly, Silacci said, normalizing the fact that healthcare professionals “while perhaps heroic in their actions—are still painfully and beautifully human” needs to become more understood.
“We all have a breaking point. It is my belief that individuals that have been on the frontlines may not even fully realize the impact of their experience just yet. Some are still running on adrenaline. Some are still numb and just trying to make it through another shift,” she said. “I believe we will see a greater need for mental health support among frontline workers in the next year or two, as they finally come up for air, and have the time and space to unthaw, and digest all that has unfolded.”
Those affected also include mental health professionals, Silacci added, and taking care of therapists is also one of her objectives. While the Therapy Aid Coalition currently offers free and low-cost services, it plans to pay therapists via stipends as it accumulates grants.
“We want services to be free to essential workers, but we also believe it is absolutely not fair to ask therapists to continue to offer pro-bono sessions two years into the pandemic,” she said. “[Therapists] are essential workers, and also qualify for free short-term sessions with us!”
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2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hendrickson RC, Slevin RA, Hoerster KD, et al.The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mental health, occupational functioning, and professional retention among health care workers and first responders.J GEN INTERN MED. 2022;37(2):397-408. doi:10.1007/s11606-021-07252-zMedscape.Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety, and Anger.
2 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hendrickson RC, Slevin RA, Hoerster KD, et al.The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mental health, occupational functioning, and professional retention among health care workers and first responders.J GEN INTERN MED. 2022;37(2):397-408. doi:10.1007/s11606-021-07252-zMedscape.Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety, and Anger.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hendrickson RC, Slevin RA, Hoerster KD, et al.The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mental health, occupational functioning, and professional retention among health care workers and first responders.J GEN INTERN MED. 2022;37(2):397-408. doi:10.1007/s11606-021-07252-zMedscape.Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety, and Anger.
Hendrickson RC, Slevin RA, Hoerster KD, et al.The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mental health, occupational functioning, and professional retention among health care workers and first responders.J GEN INTERN MED. 2022;37(2):397-408. doi:10.1007/s11606-021-07252-z
Medscape.Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety, and Anger.
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