Clinical case study of abbreviated cognitive behavioral therapy through an intersectional lens for women health-care workers during the era of COVID-19.

Abstract

The unprecedented demands of the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) have imposed a significant degree of psychological distress on women health-care workers (WHCWs). Women comprise 76% of the health-care workforce in the United States and are subject to experience higher psychosocial ramifications in the pandemic era due to gender disparities. Accordingly, women who are dually mothers may be navigating complex interactions of role strain by managing abnormally high parental and occupational workloads. The psychological toll is exacerbated for women holding multiple oppressed identities across domains such as economic status, race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other identities of salience. To address WHCWs' unique needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors present a clinical case example through an intersectional framework illustrating how an abbreviated, 4-session cognitive behavioral therapy model may be implemented to support women disproportionally affected by social and systemic factors with a focus on sexism and discrimination against mothers for this particular participant. This case study describes the treatment of a patient in an integrated women's health clinic to demonstrate how to clinically support WHCWs while promoting social justice and gender-based equity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).