Abstract
The Covid-19 crisis has clarified the demand for an ultra-brief single-session, online, theory-led, empirically supported, psychological intervention for managing stress and improving well-being, especially for people within organizational settings. We designed and delivered “4Ds for Dealing with Distress” during the crisis to address this need. 4Ds unifies a spectrum of familiar emotion regulation strategies, resilience exercises, and problem-solving approaches using perceptual control theory and distils them into a simple four-component rubric (Distract–Dilute–Develop–Discover). In essence, the aim is to reduce distress and restore wellbeing, both in the present moment through current actions (distract or dilute), and through expressing longer-term goal conflicts (e.g., through talking, writing, and drawing) to discover new perspectives that arise spontaneously after sufficient time and consideration. The intervention is user-led in that it draws on users’ own idiosyncratic and pre-existing experiences, knowledge, skills and resources to help them apply an approach, or combination of approaches, that are proportionate and timed to the nature and context of the stress they are experiencing. In this article we review the empirical basis of the approach within experimental, social, biological and clinical psychology, illustrate the novel and time-efficient delivery format, describe its relevance to sports and exercise, summarise feedback from the recipients of the intervention to date, and describe the directions for future evaluation.
Highlights
We designed and delivered “4Ds for Dealing with Distress” during the crisis to address this need. 4Ds unifies a spectrum of familiar emotion regulation strategies, resilience exercises, and problem-solving approaches using perceptual control theory and distils them into a simple four-component rubric (Distract–Dilute–Develop–Discover)
A previously developed group intervention based on perceptual control theory (PCT) – known as the Take Control Course (TCC) – has an emerging evidence base (Morris et al, 2016)
This supports the principles of a psychological intervention based on PCT; unlike 4Ds, the TCC is six weekly sessions, provides more in-depth explanation of theoretical principles, and was initially designed for people within mental health services to access in person rather than online
Summary
The Covid-19 crisis has brought the mental health needs of the population into greater awareness. The effects of lockdown on employment, interpersonal relationships, access to nature, and the provision of leisure activities and exercise has reminded those in government, academia and professional practice of the important role that these factors play in mental health and well-being (Kumar and Nayar, 2020). When they are unavailable, compromised or less accessible, wellbeing and mental health are compromised (Molarius et al, 2009). In the current article we draw out the particular relevance for our intervention to the psychology of human performance, exercise, sports and the wellbeing of clients and staff within sports organizations
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