Mental Health During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic:

A Review and Recommendations for Moving Forward 

From Perspectives on Psychological Science 

Behavioral health changes: 

• Negative emotions and psychological distress increased  
• Minimal to no change in loneliness and suicide 
• Slightly increased levels of social connection 

Factors correlated with poorer mental health: 

• Experiencing COVID-19 infection personally or via close contact 
• Dealing with financial uncertainty due to COVID-19 
• Spending more time homeschooling or doing chores 
• Frequently reading COVID-19 news 

Factors associated with improved subjective well-being: 

• Exercising 
• Spending time in nature 
• Reading 
• Listening to music 
• Volunteering

Recommendations for Patient Care Providers: 

• Monitor patients for psychological distress
• Promote well-being through practices such as: 
• Gratitude and self compassion 
• Acts of kindness or generosity 
• Using apps for resilience exercises can also be helpful. Examples include: 
• CALM 
• Moodfit 
• Shine
• TalkSpace 

Full article available at https://psyarxiv.com/zw93g/

Motivational Interviewing session at the TPCA 2021 Annual Conference

Behavior change is difficult, and it can be a source of frustration for health care practitioners who want their patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based tool that helps clinicians to work collaboratively with their patients toward making positive health behavior changes, such as reducing tobacco use or improving dietary habits. Open questions, affirmation, reflective listening, and summary reflections are the basic interaction techniques and skills that are used in the motivational interviewing approach.  

Learn more about integrating motivational interviewing into patient care at TPCA’s Annual Conference on Thursday, October 7th, 2021.

• View the full Annual Conference Agenda here>>>

Practitioner Resilience session at the TPCA 2021 Annual Conference

Practitioners are experiencing alarming rates of burnout that can lead to serious consequences, including reduced job performance, increased turnover, medical errors, and clinician suicide. A focus on clinician well-being is essential for safe, high-quality patient care.  

Resilience is a key element of protecting the health of practitioners. To learn more about resilience, consider joining us for the Practitioner Resilience and Vitality Workshop on Friday, October 8th, 2021 at our Annual Conference.

• View the full Annual Conference Agenda here>>>

You may also contact TPCA’s Dr. Desireé Kelly, Workforce Strategies & Evaluations Manager, at (615) 425-5850 or desiree.kelly@tnpca.org. 

Additional online resources:

• Resilience exercises: https://positivepsychology.com/resilience-activities-exercises/.
• Study on building resilience in front-line workers: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191373/

SUBSTANCE USE TRAININGS

YSBIRT Adolescent Substance Use Online Tool

Substance use among Tennessee high school students using substances ranges from 15.7% to 22.1% for tobacco products, marijuana, alcohol, and electronic vapor products. Additionally, the percentage of Tennessee adolescents who have ever used inhalants, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines is higher than the national average (2019 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey).  

Youth Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (YSBIRT) is an evidence-based practice designed to incorporate identification, reduction, and prevention of alcohol and drug misuse into routine primary care practices.  

YSBIRT Clinical Change Package may be downloaded for free here:

https://www.ysbirt.org/change-package/

Intersection of Substance Use, HIV, and HCV: What Behavioral Health Providers Need to Know

Patients co-diagnosed with HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and SUD face unique challenges—and caring for them is challenging to providers. Access to medical treatment has been substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further complicates the unique needs of patients with multiple diagnoses.

In this webinar, experts from the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs and the Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center will provide informative and exciting presentations focused on emerging and important SUD, HIV and viral HCV topics.



Stimulants, HIV, and HCV

Wednesday, October 13

2:00-3:30 p.m. ET

Register here

Health Literacy Webinar Series

Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center

This three-part webinar series discusses how to plainly and accurately communicate health topics. Provided by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center, these webinars are targeted to all public health practitioners. 

Health Literacy: Why Does it Matter?

Tuesday, October 5 | 1-2 PM EST

Register here

Health Literacy Techniques: Teach-Back Method

Tuesday, October 12 | 1-2 PM EST

Register here

Using Plain Language to Improve Health Literacy

Tuesday, October 19 | 1-2 PM EST

Register here

TN Primary Care Association | www.tnpca.org