April 7, 2020 -- Today, a coalition of the nation's leading mental health advocacy groups, the largest healthcare insurance companies, and the Department of Veterans Affairs announces the launch of the COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub, a package of free digital resources to help individuals and providers address mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Resource Hub is a collaboration among several leaders in the mental health community, including Psych Hub, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychological Association, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness; government partners the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health; national healthcare payors Aetna, a CVS Health company, Anthem, Inc., Beacon Health Options, Centene Corporation, Cigna, Humana, Optum, and UnitedHealthcare; and academic partners Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and UCLA Division of Population Behavioral Health.
The online collection comprises a number of video resources produced by Psych Hub. It also includes written and visual resources developed by each partner organization for maintaining one's wellbeing and coping with mental health concerns during a global pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the mental health of every American," said former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, co-founder of Psych Hub and founder of The Kennedy Forum. "We hope that by pushing these free tools out as widely as possible, we can empower individuals, families, and health providers to prioritize mental health and take necessary actions when needed. Connectedness and support for one another will get us through this."
The novel coronavirus is already having a detrimental impact on mental health: 63 percent of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey reported feeling anxious or depressed in the past week, and 80 percent of respondents reported experiencing moderate to high distress related to COVID-19. Suicide hotlines are fielding more and more calls every day. Additionally, a recent survey from China showed that over 70% of their health care workforce was experiencing some form of psychological distress. Amid this fear and uncertainty, the partners of the COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub have made a careful effort to curate information to show we aren't in this fight alone.
"Health care providers and support staff are at the vanguard of this fight and may feel strained by the needs of those who rely on their care," said Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., CEO of the American Psychological Association. "The COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub was designed for them as well as for individuals. We have worked to ensure that our resources include information to support the mental wellness of health care professionals and others working on the front lines in communities across the country."
Additionally, the coalition has compiled a glossary of terms to help those at the front lines understand the layers of support required to respond to the pandemic. The glossary is a collective effort to ensure the country has the tools it needs to help manage and nurture resilience, emotional well-being, and mental health.
"The coalition we've built is unprecedented -- never before have nonprofit advocacy and professional groups, the nation's leading healthcare payors, academic medical institutions, and a government agency come together so quickly to address an urgent mental health need such as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. "We're gratified to see so many key stakeholders in the mental health field unite to answer the call. Mental health care services are and will be essential to provide to the public and also the health care providers and allied support personnel on the front lines during the crisis but also in the months and years thereafter."
To access the free COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub, please visit https://psychhub.com/covid-19/.