Mental health perspectives of COVID-19 and the emerging role of digital mental health and telepsychiatry

Abstract

The 2019 coronavirus pandemic started in December and has now spread worldwide. This pandemic has huge mental health implications with immense psychological morbidity among the common man, patients with preexisting psychiatric diagnoses causing many relapses and exacerbations after it has ensued. Many guidelines have been put forward by various agencies to address the issue of combating mental health challenges that have arisen as a result of this pandemic. This review paper looks at the role of psychiatry and psychiatrists and the mental health challenges faced by us during this pandemic. The role of mental health interventions, the issues faced and the emerging role of telepsychiatry with its ethical and clinical dilemmas are discussed.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease 2019
• interventions
• mental health
• pandemic
• psychiatry
• psychological
• telepsychiatry