As part of the technical support that PAHO provides to countries, a series of virtual sessions have been organized to support mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) professionals to be able to make psychological and psychosocial interventions remotely, ensuring quality. Remote care has become very relevant since the crisis experienced by the COVID 19 pandemic, showing itself to be a very effective modality, which generates adherence and is key in preventing the development of possible mental health conditions derived from the large number of stressors to which the population is subjected (uncertainty, physical and social isolation, loss of resources, increase in situations of violence, etc). However, and that is what this initiative is based on, MHPSS remote interventions involve taking into account fundamental considerations for its implementation.
Several countries have successfully implemented remote psychological and psychosocial support mechanisms, including Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Panama and Uruguay, among many others. These virtual sessions have served to consolidate key concepts to be considered in this modality such as having good preparation, choosing the platform to be used, confidentiality, consent, establishing limits, informing about the type of intervention to be carried out, and communication skills, among others. The sessions have also been a space in which the participants (54 to date) from different countries have been able to resolve doubts, share experiences, discuss about approaching complex cases and learn from each other.
This training modality, where participants are invited to take a virtual self-learning course prior to the virtual discussion sessions, is proving to be very successful and PAHO will continue to offer this type of space for self-learning and shared learning.