The CopeNYP program: A model for brief treatment of psychological distress among healthcare workers and hospital staff.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Kanellopoulos D, Solomonov N, Ritholtz S, Wilkins V, Goldman R, Schier M, Oberlin L, Bueno-Castellano C, Dargis M, Cherestal S, Gunning F
Journal	Gen Hosp Psychiatry
Volume	73
Pagination	24-29
Date Published	09/06/2021
ISSN	1873-7714
Keywords	COVID-19, Psychological Distress
Abstract	In the midst of the Spring 2020 initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, members of the Psychiatry Department of Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rapidly created and implemented a brief, behavioral skills-based intervention program, "CopeNYP", to address the immediate mental health needs of the employees of the hospital and medical school. We describe the development, implementation and evolution of this telehealth-delivered program staffed primarily by in-house clinical psychologists, postdoctoral fellows, pre-doctoral interns and counselors who were redeployed or volunteered their time to provide urgent support for employees. We discuss the challenges and lessons learned in providing brief, skills-based psychological interventions for employees subjected to chronic stress. As the impact of the pandemic became prolonged, employees faced compounding stressors including social isolation, fear of infection, grief and loss, and sequelae of COVID-19-related illness combined with work-related demands. Our goal is to present our program design, implementation, and utilization as a blueprint for other institutions that would like to develop an evidence-based clinician-staffed psychological intervention program to support ongoing employee mental health needs.
DOI	10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.09.002
PubMed ID	34536798
PubMed Central ID	PMC8420093