As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into a second winter, its impact on mental health also is persisting.
In a recent study, Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City found nearly 40% of 4,633 patients reported that new or continuing symptoms of depression remained common during the first year of the pandemic, from March 2020 to April 2021. The symptoms got worse for some of them, leading to increased visits to the emergency department for treatment of anxiety and chest pain, according to the study.
Summit County also has seen an increase in mental health issues.
Aaron Newman, the county’s behavioral health director, said there’s been a “giant need” for services since the coronavirus emerged. Some of the people seeking help are new clients and others have received care in the past and are returning to work with their former provider, he said.
The demand increased 40% during the pandemic for basic clinical care and 65% for medication management, Newman said. Many nonprofits have experienced a similar rise in clients, he said.
In addition, there was an 180% rise in crisis calls and text conversations, but those numbers have since dropped to pre-pandemic levels, Newman said.
Based on anecdotal evidence only, the decrease might be attributable to more people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, which removes some of their isolation by allowing them to interact in person with friends and neighbors, he said.
“But we’re still seeing our overall number of people receiving care is well above what we were pre-pandemic and we anticipate that remaining so,” Newman said.
Julya Sembrat, executive director of Connect Summit County, a local mental wellness nonprofit, said the organization had a 20% increase in calls during 2021 for assistance. Connect has gotten more than 200 calls, texts and emails and 150 individuals have used its resource line, many of them repeat users, she said.
Those who reach out might be experiencing depression, anxiety or a feeling of hopelessness, and some have suffered a loss, Sembrat said.
“We don’t know when this is going to end,” she said. “I think there is an overarching realization that our lives are not going to go back to the way they were. That’s a heavy burden to bear.”
One positive is that people are a little more open about talking about their feelings, Sembrat said.
Newman also said the pandemic has shown many the benefit of behavioral health care.
When classes were moved online, all school-based services also were provided virtually, and clinicians who were helping their own children with remote learning moved their hours to later in the day, he said. That schedule change, in turn, allowed family members of kids getting services to take part in the discussions and help with the treatment, he said.
“That showed the parents, some of them who may have been reluctant in the past, the value of receiving care and reaching out for help,” Newman said. “We saw an increase in a lot of the parents whose children were involved in school-based services seek help themselves.”
In a Nov. 13 news release, Heidi May, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute and the study’s principal investigator, said follow-up is needed to determine potential long-term effects from the pandemic.
She said it is vital that clinicians address their patients’ mental health issues “because the pandemic is still not over.”
Resources available
For non-emergency assistance, Summit County residents and their family members can access Connect’s Peer Navigation Services by calling or texting 435-776-HELP (4357) or emailing [email protected] for help finding the resources they need. The team also can help with insurance questions.
People also can look for resources themselves by visiting connectsummitcounty.org and putting in keywords in the “I’m looking for” box.
If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call the Utah Crisis Line at 801-587-3000 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll free at 800-273-8255 (TALK).
Latino Behavioral Health Services also provides support and can be reached at 801-935-4447 and 385-495-2188.
Newman encourages everyone to download on their smartphones the SafeUT app, which is a crisis chat and confidential tip line that provides a way to connect to licensed counselors by phone or text immediately. The clinicians also can send a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, or MCOT, if needed. Visit safeut.org for more information.