Case study on psychological first aid on Italian COVID-Hospital

Coronavirus disease had an enormous impact on public health by affecting millions of people who have either fallen ill or died as a result of this disease. The pandemic resulted in several short- and long-term psychological effects, while restrictive measures adopted resulted in challenges in terms of support and counselling meetings, demonstrating the need to move to a digital health care system. In this context, the Psychological First Aid Service at Sant’Andrea, a service for COVID-19 patients and their loved ones, was set up in the Lazio region (Italy). The service provides two free telephone interviews, and if necessary, people are directed to other free support services in the region. In this article, we report a case study of two brothers who contacted the service during the second pandemic wave in Italy. The case has been discussed according to the recent literature, taking the practical and operational aspects of psychological first aid into account.