Independent mental health providers’ experience in initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

This study focused on experiences of mental health providers in independent practice in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to understand transition to telehealth, stress, and if self-care and emotion regulation were related to stress level. Participants (N = 207) were mental health providers in independent practice. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983);Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003);and Self-Care Assessment for Psychologists (Dorociak, Rupert, Bryant, et al., 2017) in alternating order, and answered questions about personal and professional demographics, type of independent practice, and stressors and supports during COVID-19 (closed-ended and open-ended questions). Results indicated that participants rarely used telehealth prior to COVID 19 (with 46.80% stating they never used it and 42.36% stating they used it less than a quarter of their time) and had a rapid shift to telehealth provision (with 72.91% exclusively using telehealth shortly before or after the declaration of the pandemic). Most participants reported only moderate stress during the early months of COVID-19. For emotion regulation, increased use of cognitive reappraisal was associated with less stress, but increased use of expressive suppression was associated with increased stress. All facets of self-care were associated with less stress-having professional support, engaging in professional development, having life balance, utilizing cognitive strategies, and aiming for daily balance. Participants indicated a wide variety of stressors, some related to practice and some to the pandemic, as well as sources of support, including colleagues and professional organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Mental health providers in independent practice made a rapid shift to telehealth in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher utilization of adaptive emotion regulation and regular self-care strategies were associated with lower provider stress, emphasizing the importance of regular use of these strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)