TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - LOVE in the time of Covid-19: a brief mental health intervention to overcome loneliness
JO  - Australasian psychiatry
A1  - Kar Ray, Manaan
A1  - Chow, Ka Ki
A1  - Theodoros, Theo
A1  - Wyder, Marianne
A1  - Steginga, Anne
A1  - Sorrensen, Rosemary
A1  - Hickey, Paul
A1  - Lau, Geoff
A1  - Kinsella, Kieran
A1  - Lombardo, Chiara
SP  - 529
EP  - 534
VL  - 29
IS  - 5
N2  - OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak and its containment through public health strategies has resulted in a parallel pandemic of psychological distress. Increased loneliness and social isolation are associated with adverse health outcomes, yet there is a gap in brief interventions that specifically target loneliness. This article introduces a brief intervention to strengthen connectedness, LOVE. In a systematic way, this solution-focused approach encourages openness and sharing of current struggles with the existing circle of support. There are four steps in LOVE: List people in one's life, Organise them on the helpfulness-availability matrix, Verify what they know to map them onto circles of trust and Engage them through self-disclosure.  CONCLUSION: The article details each concept, its importance, the pragmatics involved and top tips to guide practice. The memorable acronym provides logical sequence and structure. It is time efficient in training and delivery, with no former mental health knowledge required so there is potential for wide application. It facilitates collaboration between health professionals and people in distress and promotes empowerment and self-resilience. Adapted from the safety planning component of PROTECT, a pre-existing suicide prevention framework, LOVE has to be fine-tuned as a brief intervention in the wider context of the pandemic.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1039-8562
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10398562211010806
ID  - ref1
ER  -