Half of the surveyed clients see negative consequences and 16 percent even see very negative consequences for the care they need since the lockdown in mid-December 2020. Their care has stopped, appointments are canceled due to illness or quarantine and the waiting time is increasing. . Group therapy is hindered by the varying presence of group members and body-oriented therapy such as haptonomy and EMDR are often also canceled.
Clients report that fewer care providers are working on location, which means that fewer appointments are physical and it is more difficult to make appointments. In short, progress in treatment is stagnating and continuity is at risk. This is shown by research by MIND from mid-February to early March 2021.
The consequences of lockdown are doubly hard
The research shows that people with mental health problems are severely affected by the lockdown and the extra corona measures that came into effect from mid-December. In addition to the increase in complaints that has already been visible since the start of the corona crisis in 2020, 70 percent of the participants experience worsening complaints. This is even more than 80 percent for young people under the age of 30. Loneliness in particular increases due to the limitation of social contacts, but also fear and stress.
Visit rule has the greatest impact
Of all the measures, people are the most negative about the ‘maximum 1 person per day visit rule.’ The rule leads to alienation, loss of social contacts and family ties. There is uncertainty about the content and status of the measure.
Mandatory masks and curfews also hit specific groups hard. In approximately ten percent of the respondents, the duty to mask the mouth leads to attacks of fear or panic and to reliving previous trauma. Curfew prevents people from going outside or receiving informal help in stressful situations. MIND calls on the government to take more account of the impact on mental health in the selection and presentation of measures and to apply more customization.
By: Nationale Zorggids
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