Mental Health and Clinical Psychological Science in the Time of COVID-19: Challenges, Opportunities, and a Call to Action

Authors

June Gruber, University of Colorado, BoulderFollow
Mitchell J. Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFollow
Lee Anna Clark, University of Notre DameFollow
Jonathan Rottenberg, University of South FloridaFollow
Jonathan S. Abramowitz, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFollow
Anne Marie Albano, Columbia University
Amelia Aldao, Together CBT
Jessica L. Borelli, University of California, IrvineFollow
Tammy Chung, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/PiscatawayFollow
Joanne Davila, State University of New York at Stony BrookFollow
Erika E. Forbes, University of PittsburghFollow
Dylan G. Gee, Yale UniversityFollow
Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, University of OregonFollow
Lauren S. Hallion, University of Pittsburgh
Stephen P. Hinshaw, University of California - BerkeleyFollow
Stefan G. Hofmann, Boston UniversityFollow
Steven D. Hollon, Vanderbilt UniversityFollow
Jutta Joormann, Yale UniversityFollow
Alan E. Kazdin, Yale UniversityFollow
Daniel N. Klein, State University of New York at Stony BrookFollow
Annette M. La Greca, University of MiamiFollow
Robert W. Levenson, University of California - BerkeleyFollow
Angus W. MacDonald III, University of MinnesotaFollow
Dean McKay, Fordham UniversityFollow
Katie A. McLaughlin, Harvard UniversityFollow
Jane Mendle, Cornell CollegeFollow
Adam Bryant Miller, Miller Lab
Enrique W. Neblett, The University Of MichiganFollow
Matthew Nock, Harvard UniversityFollow
Bunmi O. Olatunji, Vanderbilt University
Jacqueline B. Persons, Oakland Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center
David C. Rozek, University of Utah
Jessica L. Schleider, State University of New York at Stony BrookFollow
George M. Slavich, University of California, Los Angeles
Bethany A. Teachman, University of Virginia - Main Campus
Vera Vine, University of Pittsburgh
Lauren M. Weinstock, Brown UniversityFollow

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

COVID-19 presents significant social, economic, and medical challenges. Because COVID-19 has already begun to precipitate huge increases in mental health problems, clinical psychological science must assert a leadership role in guiding a national response to this secondary crisis. In this article, COVID-19 is conceptualized as a unique, compounding, multidimensional stressor that will create a vast need for intervention and necessitate new paradigms for mental health service delivery and training. Urgent challenge areas across developmental periods are discussed, followed by a review of psychological symptoms that likely will increase in prevalence and require innovative solutions in both science and practice. Implications for new research directions, clinical approaches, and policy issues are discussed to highlight the opportunities for clinical psychological science to emerge as an updated, contemporary field capable of addressing the burden of mental illness and distress in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond.

Recommended Citation

Gruber, J., Prinstein, M.J., Clark, L.A., Rottenberg, J., Abramowitz, J.S., Albano, A.M., Aldao, A., Borelli, J.L., Davila, J., Forbes, E.E., Gee, D.G., Hall, G.C.N., Hallion, L.S., Hinshaw, S.P., Hofmann, S.G., Hollon, S.D., Joormann, J., Kazdin, A.E., Klein, D.N., Levenson, R.W., MacDonald, A.W., McKay, D., McLaughlin, K.A., Mendle, J., Miller, A.B., Neblett, E., Nock, M., Olatunji, B.O., Persons, J.B., Rozek, D.C., Shleider, J.L., Slavich, G.M., Teachman, B.A., Vine, V.J., & Weinstock, L. (in press). Clinical psychological science’s call to action in the time of COVID-19. American Psychologist. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000707

Copyright & Reuse Policy

Gruber, J., Prinstein, M. J., Clark, L. A., Rottenberg, J., Abramowitz, J. S., Albano, A. M., . . . Weinstock, L. M. (2020). Mental health and clinical psychological science in the time of COVID-19: Challenges, opportunities, and a call to action. American Psychologist. Advance online publication © 2020 American Psychological Association. Open Access: can link to openly accessible content but cannot reproduce to redistribute.