This issue of Psychomed 2020 is affected by the particular conditions that have occurred this year. A viral pandemic that has spread across the globe has had profound impacts in many countries of the world, giving reasons to affect, even in unpredictable ways, laws and regulations – and therefore on the life habits of populations consolidated over centuries of history – with consequences that are not yet fully calculable. Many businesses have had to close, with serious effects on the mental health of citizens due to the loss of income if not really stressful work, the loss of usual human contacts, the loss of cultural activities or conviviality. Other activities have been absorbed or replaced by large digital platforms, which have offered alternative services, even if not always comparable, such as educational services. Many rights have been suspended, leading to fears that they can no longer be fully restored. Social distancing has drastically reduced social support, one of the most important protective factors against psycho-emotional stress. The web of human relationships that make up the fabric of society has been altered. Social isolation has increased. A series of too numerous or too rapid changes have led to a considerable increase in mental disorders, which has only recently been able to begin to be studied.
Even the Psychomed editorial team has been affected, at least as regards the contents of this issue of the magazine, mainly centered on psychotherapeutic or community interventions. Some changes in the implementation methods of these interventions had already been in place since the last century, such as the use of computers to carry out (or integrate) forms of psychological treatment that were carried out face-to-face, or, with a more current expression , “in presence”. Therefore, on-line psychotherapy did not start this year, but its potential is understood as never before, especially where travel is too difficult or feared. In this issue, we therefore wanted to include a study on the effectiveness of online psychotherapy, which initially aroused many perplexities.
At the same time, a further increase was observed in the use of social networks by young people, who do not always have a sufficient level of maturity to inhibit aggressive behavior or know how to defend themselves against it. Obviously, these “bullying” behaviors were a problem even before social networks, but their digital transposition has significantly amplified their scope. We are therefore pleased to be able to offer readers a special review of intervention programs on the phenomenon of so-called “cyberbullying”, to give an overview of the currently most adopted and effective methods to combat it.
Social isolation is an important risk factor for the development of depression, especially for elderly subjects, especially in a society that constantly looks to the future (no longer rosy) and little to the past. More and more elderly people are housed in protected residences, or more and more live separated from their families. During this pandemic they were among the first victims and were not always able to receive the comfort of family members. The pandemic has dramatically highlighted the problem of the elderly with respect to their vulnerabilities. The third article of this issue is therefore dedicated to a review of the so-called “life review” therapy in elderly patients affected by depression. This procedure favors the increase in salience of personal memories, which become internal resources, but favoring social sharing and connection with the present. In the authors’ words, the life review proved to be an “excellent treatment option in the event of senile depression”.
Finally, a link with the present has also been sought in the Historical Archive. We have included the reproduction of two chapters of the book Extreme Stress and Communities. Impact and Intervention, edited by Stevan E. Hobfoll and Marten W. De Vries (Springer Ed., Kluver, Dordrecht, Netherlands), published 1995, reporting the research, contributions and discussions of the seminar research event – organized by NATO – held in France at Chateau de Bonas in the summer of 1994, with international researchers and scholars in the field of psycho-social stress. All aspects of this topic were examined on that occasion, by leading researchers, from the problems of scientific research to those of the mental health of operators in the area.
There has not been a period since then in which the experience of collective stress, typical of major disasters, be they natural or intentional, has imposed itself more clearly than this year, also favored by a media communication which has dramatized it
