PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS IN THE TIME OF CRISIS

Abstract

Psychological interventions may improve patients’ motivation and adherence to various therapies, including those alleviating pain, depression, and fatigue. Evaluating patients’ psychological status and choosing the most appropriate intervention may improve combined treatment outcomes, particularly in the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Exposure to psychotraumatic events such as violence, torture, and limb amputation should be appropriately assessed to choose a psychotherapy method. Narrative exposure therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy are commonly used psychological interventions with variable level of evidence. Training first-contact health professionals and psychologists to use the most efficient evidence-based psychological interventions is thus becoming critical at the current stage.