Protocol in somatic psychology for mental health care in the context of crises and emergencies during Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic intensified the psychological suffering of healthcare professionals, especially those working on the front lines, highlighting the urgency of mental health interventions. This study aimed to describe the implementation and evaluate, in a pre–post design, a free online psychological protocol based on the somatic approach of the Bodynamic® System. This descriptive report concerns a service embedded within longitudinal research, with assessments conducted before (T0) and after (T1) six sessions using the DASS-21. A total of 242 healthcare workers accessed the service. For the research phase, 31 participants who completed the protocol were included in the analysis . The results indicated a statistically significant reduction in depression, anxiety, and stress scores from T0 to T1, with moderate effect sizes (paired d ≈ 0.62–0.75). Evidence of clinical relevance was also observed, reflected in improvements in symptom severity classifications. These findings suggest that the Bodynamic® protocol was a viable strategy associated with symptom reduction among participating healthcare professionals, indicating potential usefulness for delivering psychological care during a prolonged public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.