Serbia

It is already well established that pandemics in general and the COVID-19 onein particular can have adverse consequences on some people’s mental well-being. While not everyone will suffer and some may even benefit from the pandemic conditions, having emotional support can reduce the likelihood of poor outcomes and promote psychological wellbeing. Professional mental health networks are understaffed to give adequate support to the number of distressed individuals at this time. Furthermore, there are barriers for many to access professional help. There is empirical support that caring and empathic paraprofessional laypeople can quickly learn Psychological First Aid to reduce the distress load of the general population during pandemics. There are already platforms such as 7-Cups that provide evidence based training for volunteer listeners. The first author of this presentation participated in onesuch program in order to gain competencies as a paraprofessional listener and began providing voluntary support during the current pandemic. She shares her experiences of the process of gaining the training and providing services and comments on some of the pros and cons. The second author comments on this type of service from a professional counseling psychologist’s perspective and addresses some of the barriers to access professional help. Promoting such listening programs to the public could have positive societal implications and should be implemented widely with some precautions to ensure professional, competent and ethical services.

7th Public Health Conference

Maximizing the Potential of Paraprofessional Listeners to Promote Psychological Wellbeing during COVID-19

Public Health Conference (PHC) is one of a kind platform for global stakeholders from academic, professional and governmental realms to gather, network and discuss healthcare, public health and medical science.

technical paper

Equality in Public Health: COVID-19, Cancer and Palliative Care Patients - Indian Perspective

Incidence and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases in Post Menopausal Women of Trible Districts

Developmental Delay and Its Associated Factors Among Children Under Five Years in Urban Slums of Nepal

Talking about Death, Celebrating Life

Health Literacy - Importance, Role and Responsibility of Global Stakeholders

An Examination of the Role Ethical Leadership and the Attainment of Maternal and Child Health Equity

Health Literacy Among University Students: Relationship with Sociodemographic Characteristics

Microbiological Analysis of Post Pulmonary Tuberculosis Infections

Proactive Approach to Healthcare - Prevention, Boosting Immune System and Promoting Healthy Lifestyle

A Proposal for Enhancing Public Health and Wellness: Case Reports of Full Recovery from Severe Chronic Diseases by Practicing Falun Gong

poster

panel

https://d3smihljt9218e.cloudfront.net/transcript/26708/subtitle/971ed945a6a2e386565498f8c9f80471.vtt

English (automatic)

Premium content

Maximizing the Potential of Paraprofessional Listeners to Promote Psychological Wellbeing during COVID-19

Downloads

Next from 7th Public Health Conference

Equality in Public Health: COVID-19, Cancer and Palliative Care Patients - Indian Perspective

Similar lecture

A Case for Early Education Toward Sustainable Antibiotic Stewardship