fulya.turk@yildiz.edu.tr
Fulya Türk1*, Aykut Kul2, Zeynep Hamamcı3, Mehmet Zihni Sungur4, Şengül Kocamer Şahin5, Gülçin Elboğa6
1 Yildiz Technical University, Faculty of Education, Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling. (fulya.turk@yildiz. edu.tr) Orcid: 0000-0003-1896-8418
2 Gaziantep University, Faculty of Education, Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling. (aykutkul92@gmail.com) Orcid: 0000-0002-2851-2222
3 University of Beykoz, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology. (zhamamci@gmail.com) Orcid: 0000-0002-3678-9387
4 Kent University, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, İstanbul, Turkey (mzihnisungur@kent.edu.tr) Orcid: 0000-0002-0766-485X
5 Health Sciences University Adana Faculty of Medicine Mental Health and Diseases (snglkcmr@hotmail.com) Orcid: 0000 0002 5371 3907
6 Gaziantep University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep, Turkey (gelboga@gantep.edu.tr), Orcid: 0000-0003-3903-1835
Abstract
The global COVID-19 pandemic has exerted profound physical and psychological tolls on healthcare professionals, underscoring the urgent need for their mental health support. The objectives of this research are twofold: first, to develop an e-psychological support program based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy tailored specifically for healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic; second, to assess the program’s effectiveness in reducing secondary traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and stress levels, as well as improving healthcare professionals’ perception of coping with trauma. Designed as a randomized controlled trial, the study was conducted with 71 healthcare workers employed in a hospital in Gaziantep, Turkey. The developed e-psychological support program consists of six modules: stress model, self-monitoring skills, coping with anxiety, behavioral activation skills, and cognitive restructuring (two modules). The results showing a significant decrease in anxiety, depression, stress and secondary traumatic levels in the intervention group compared to the control group are encouraging. This suggests that the CBT-based e-psychological support program has the potential to have a positive impact on the mental well-being of healthcare professionals. Also, the improvement in healthcare professionals’ perception of coping with trauma is an important outcome. CBT has a strong evidence base for treating mental health issues, and adapting it for the specific needs of healthcare workers during a crisis like the pandemic is a promising approach. The development of online interventions for healthcare professionals is valuable not only for the current pandemic but also for future crisis situations. These programs can serve as a template for addressing mental health needs during other global health emergencies.
Keywords: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), e-psychological support, healthcare professionals, secondary trauma, anxiety.
Please cite this article as:
Türk, F., Kul, A., Hamamcı, Z., Sungur, M. Z., Şahin, Ş. K., & Elboğa. F. (2025). The Effect of a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy-Based E-Psychological Support Program for Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, 25(1), 1-28.
DOI: 10.24193/jebp.2025.1.1
Published online: 2025/03/01
Published print: 2025/03/01
