Wind T, Rijkeboer M, Andersson G, Riper H. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic: The ‘black swan’ for mental health care and a turning point for e-health. 20: 100317. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100317
In this editorial, researchers define the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on global mental health care as a “black swan” moment: an improbable event with significant consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on institutional adoption of internet-based mental health technologies. For instance, the COVID-19 virus has catalyzed what almost two decades of promising evidence for videoconferencing psychotherapy had not accomplished: large-scale acceptance of telehealth psychotherapy. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most clinicians still believed that the therapeutic alliance could only be established face-to-face, despite promising results for videoconferencing psychotherapy and even stronger evidence for therapist-guided internet interventions. Lack of clinician acceptance had proven one of the most critical barriers to the integration of digital health into routine care. It took institutions 16 years, on average, to implement a new health innovation. The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted providers across the globe to overcome perceived barriers and adopt digital health technologies for pragmatic reasons as in-person appointments became unsafe. Digital health also has much to offer beyond telehealth. To accommodate the expected upsurge of patients with COVID-related mental health symptoms, the authors encourage institutions to embrace a broader digital health approach that includes prevention, treatment, and outreach to at-risk individuals.