Psychology is responding to Covid-19

Our members are working hard to keep services going at a time of increased pressure and social distancing, and considering how to respond to a lockdown that is putting strain on all of our sense of wellbeing.

The psychological knowledge that the BPS promotes every single day has a huge part to play in responding to this pandemic, both right now as we face the worst of the disease itself, and as we look to recover and rebuild some sense of normality.

With this in mind, we formed a coordinating group five weeks ago that has been chaired by our President David Murphy, and that has produced relevant materials and guidance at an astonishing pace.

Some of these are aimed at our members and other professionals, covering areas including potential redeployment and conducting effective therapy using video software, but others are for the general public.

I certainly can't remember a more unsettling time than this, and I'm sure that goes for almost everyone, so the expertise of psychologists in helping to guide people through that uncertainty is going to be vital over the coming months and possibly even years.

Through its seven workstreams, the coordinating group has already produced guidance on helping older people during this period, talking to children and young people about illness and using social media to cope with isolation.

Many more resources are in production, and we'll continue to share them with you. I hope that people find them helpful.

It's also been fantastic to see so many psychologists out there giving their expertise on television and in newspapers. The whole of our discipline is really rising to an unprecedented challenge - access to evidence-based psychological science is always important, but never more so than it is right now.

I hope that everyone is keeping well during this difficult time – if the BPS can do anything to support you, please get in touch and let us know.