key: cord-0693802-j6iz4c10 authors: Hu, Nannan; Pan, Shengming; Sun, Jijun; Wang, Zhuo; Mao, Hongjing title: Mental health treatment online during the COVID-19 outbreak date: 2020-05-02 journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01129-8 sha: 1eca3b93b1fa9fd5578d9680efa121b73e49c261 doc_id: 693802 cord_uid: j6iz4c10 nan made it possible for psychiatrists and mental health centers to provide online mental health services during the COVID-19 outbreak [6] , to decrease patient cross-infection in hospitals, due to the online consultation provided. Patients get access to Ali-pay, which is a mobile application developed by Jack Ma's team and widely used in China. Then they may search Zhejiang internet hospital platform (in Chinese), and choose an online consultation or internet phone consultation. Patients are able to upload their medical records, which can only be seen by the consulting doctor. It is a great comfort to patients with chronic diseases to access professional advice and get free assessment. There are also online lectures and articles about health education to help prevent any relapse in chronic mental patients. These resources guide citizens on how to relax at home, for example, they may use the knowledge gained from respiratory training and meditation. Aerobic exercise programs, for example, jogging, swimming, badminton, are recommended as they can help relieve adverse emotions. If conditions are restricted, leg raises, squats, push-ups, and abdominal exercises are also helpful. Increasingly, psychologists and psychiatrists are utilizing the internet and social media such as WeChat and Weibo to share strategies for dealing with psychological stress [5] . Strategies such as (1) guide the public to recognize the epidemic correctly. Do not exaggerate the consequences. (2) Psychological reactions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and obsession may occur during the outbreak and how to respond to these reactions. (3) Keep up social connections. Chatting and communicating with family, friends, and co-workers through the use of phone or internet. To some individuals, pets can soothe emotions. Some patients may be satisfied with online consultation, while others may not. To those who really need psychopharmacological treatment for their mental illness, we suggest such patients who are living near the Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital to come to the hospital at their earliest convenience. Despite the potent infectiousness, the tendency of COVID-19 is possible to be inhibited. Newly ascertained cases are decreasing in numbers daily, which means the Chinese government measures have been extremely effective. However, mental health care is urgently needed [7] , especially for medical workers who faced extreme risk of becoming infected and high-pressure work caused by rescuing severely ill patients [8] . As for the current situation, networking of medical treatments is playing an important role in the development of medicines. Thus, online mental services should be further developed to help maintain support of mentally ill patients in major public health events like COVID-19. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin Breakthrough: Chloroquine phosphate has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical studies Can Chinese medicine be used for prevention of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? A review of historical classics, research evidence and current prevention programs 2019-nCoV epidemic: address mental health care to empower society Online mental health services in China during the COVID-19 outbreak Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed The mental health of medical workers in Wuhan, China dealing with the 2019 novel coronavirus Ethics approval Not applicable.