The self-coping method in online psychological aid at COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Today pandemic has set challenges for psychologists and psychotherapists in providing online first psychological aid to the community. AIM: At such moments, society especially needs psychological support, which should be feasible, short-term, and effective. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A method of self-coping, based on the concepts of behavioral and cognitive psychology. The following principles underlie the method: a person can cope with his/her conditions; the accumulation of unconscious feelings, sensations, images leads to the development of problem states; self-awareness of them through the conscious observation leads to their attenuation and extinction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The method consists of five steps. The first step is the differentiation of feelings, sensations, and appropriate images. The second stage is the observation of one's condition related to images. In the third stage, the client observes spontaneous images and related feelings and sensations. The fourth step involves observing spontaneous images. Fifth stage: A client obtains skills of ecological behavior: A person expresses feelings but does not exhibit them in a destructive way. The Add-on tools help at jam up issues. RESULTS: The pre-pandemic experience of using this method has shown high efficiency, comprehensibility, and simplicity. The method has proven its usefulness in online consulting, positively perceived by clients, who note its ease of understanding, training, and use. CONCLUSION: The method has shown an efficacy during the pandemic and suggested to be effective in various conditions (obsessive/anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, etc.)