Tracking demands for seeking psychological help before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a quanti-qualitative study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented burdens on individuals and communities around the world. The isolation, fear, and uncertainty caused by the virus has led to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The pandemic has also had a disproportionate impact on individuals and communities with low income and socioeconomic status.ObjectiveTo shed light on the consequences of the pandemic on individuals from minorities and low-income areas, we investigate the main reasons that led patients who were referred to a social clinic of a private university in Rio de Janeiro to seek psychological treatment before (2019) and during the pandemic (2020 and 2021).MethodsWe conducted a quanti-qualitative study with a lexical analysis that evaluated 549 complaint forms of patients seeking treatment in these two distinct periods. Our analyses included descending hierarchical analysis (DHA) and correspondence factor analysis (CFA).ResultsFamily dynamics and communication factors play a dominant role in the reason for seeking therapy and psychological treatment. Additionally, our study suggested an increase in anxiety and panic attacks among other mental health issues associated with grief and losses during the pandemic years.ConclusionBased on these analyses, we can begin to identify a few changes in the main demand and redirection of complaints of patients during the period of COVID-19.

Keywords: Complaint; Coronavirus; IRaMuTeQ; Mental health; SARS-CoV-2; Therapy.

Fig. 1

Dendrogram of the DHA for the pre-pandemic period

Fig. 2

Dendrogram of the DHA during the pandemic period

Fig. 3

Correspondence factorial analysis (CFA) of the pre-pandemic period. Words in red belong to Cluster 1 that relates to self-esteem factors, words in gray belong to Cluster 2 that relates to mental health, words in green belong to Cluster 3 that relates to family dynamics, words in blue belong to Cluster 4 that relates to loneliness, tiredness and exhaustion, and words in purple belong to Cluster 5 that relates to RI and indicators of motivation to seek therapy. Highlighted words by solid rectangles represent the 25 words with highest χ2 in each cluster for text excerpts collected during the pre-pandemic period.

Fig. 4

Correspondence factorial analysis (CFA) of the during-pandemic period. Words colored red are part of Cluster 1, which pertains to anxiety symptoms and panic attacks. Green words are associated with Cluster 2, which covers grief and mental health conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Blue words belong to belong to Cluster 3, which relates to conflicts and communication among family members.