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. 2024 Jul 1;3(3):e223.
doi: 10.1002/pcn5.223. eCollection 2024 Sep.

Psychological treatments for mental health symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection: A scoping review

So Sugita  1 , Kotone Hata  2 , Krandhasi Kodaiarasu  3 , Naoki Takamatsu  1   4 , Kentaro Kimura  1 , Christian Miller  5 , Lecsy Gonzalez  6 , Ikue Umemoto  1 , Keitaro Murayama  7 , Tomohiro Nakao  8 , Shinsuke Kito  1   9 , Masaya Ito  1 , Hironori Kuga  1
Affiliations

Psychological treatments for mental health symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection: A scoping review

So Sugita et al. PCN Rep. .

Abstract

The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize published studies and ongoing clinical trials of psychological interventions for mental health problems associated with COVID-19 infection. The study protocol was developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews. We conducted systematic searches for studies published or registered between January 2020 and October 2022 using eight scientific databases and clinical trial registries, which identified 40 complete published studies and 53 ongoing clinical trials. We found that most studies were randomized controlled trials (74%) while the remaining used study designs of lower methodological quality. Most studies investigated interventions for acute COVID-19 patients (74%) and others explored post-COVID conditions (PCC) or recovered patients. Cognitive and behavioral therapies were the main intervention approaches (31%), followed by multidisciplinary programs (21%) and mindfulness (17%). The most frequently evaluated outcomes were anxiety (33%), depression (26%), quality of life (13%), and insomnia (10%). No studies on youths, older people, or marginalized communities were found. These findings summarize the burgeoning research on a range of psychological interventions for individuals infected with COVID-19. However, the field is in its infancy and further research to develop an evidence base for targeted care is necessary. The gaps identified in the current study also highlight the need for more research on youths, older people, and members of marginalized communities, and PCC patients. It is important to ascertain interventions and delivery strategies that are not only effective and affordable but also allow high scalability and accessibility.

Keywords: COVID‐19; anxiety; depression; psychotherapy; sleep initiation and maintenance disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

Masaya Ito has received royalties for books and writings on psychological treatment from Shindan to Chiryo sha, Sogen sha, and several publishing companies in Japan. He has also received honorariums for workshops and supervision related to psychological treatments. Hironori Kuga is an Editorial Board member of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports and a co‐author of this article. To minimize bias, they were excluded from all editorial decision‐making related to the acceptance of this article for publication.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram describing the selection and inclusion process. EU CTR, EU Clinical Trials Register.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequencies of sample size in bins.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Characteristics of interventions are illustrated according to: (a) COVID‐19 status of the patient population, (b) types of interventions, (c) intervention modality, (d) intervention duration, and (e) target mental health symptoms. In (d), studies are counted more than once if it includes multiple outcomes. EMDR, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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