Media Coverage

A story reporting on the tremendous mental health toll the pandemic has taken on the population as a whole and specifically on mental health care workers quotes Michael R. Cummings, MD, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry, who said: “The kind of informal collaboration and support that you get from chatting with peers and colleagues gets lost when you’re working from a computer screen. There’s less formal support, but there’s less informal support as well, and I think that's also why, for a lot of young people, rates of depression and anxiety are higher in the community. There’s less time to decompress in ways that we would have in the past.”

A broadcast story about seasonal affective disorder quotes Steven L. Dubovsky, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry, who said it’s a variant of hibernation. “As the duration of daylight decreases, it’s essentially telling your nervous system to start getting ready to hibernate,” Dubovsky said. “In people who are prone to getting depressed, this shutting down process turns on systems in the brain that make you more withdrawn, negative and less engaged with the world.”

In an article about how some people binge drink to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenneth E. Leonard, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UB Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, provides expertise on the different factors associated with binge drinking. “Adverse childhood experiences and parental alcohol problems are associated with binge drinking,” he explains. “Those who start drinking at a younger age and those who smoke or use illegal drugs are also more likely to engage in binge drinking.” Leonard notes: “Having problems with friends or romantic partners because of your drinking, or problems with your job or school work, can also be an indication of a problem.” He also discusses the various methods many people can use to curb their drinking.

Kenneth E. Leonard, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UB Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, discusses how people can cope with negative feelings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic without leaning on drugs and alcohol. A daily routine can go a long way when it comes to combating the feelings that could push you to cope with drinking or drugs, says Leonard. “We know that stress and negative feelings can be influenced by our overall physical state … Maintaining regularity is an important element in all of this,” says Leonard, adding: “Over the past 10 months there has just been an explosion of telepsychology and telepsychiatry. There's also a lot of treatment for alcohol and drug use that is delivered in that way.”

There is a way to sensitively navigate conversations about whether and how to celebrate Thanksgiving and other holiday rituals during the pandemic, says Sourav Sengupta, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry. When broaching the subject, begin with a caring statement, he says. “It’s important to minimize judgmental language and to try hard to stick with facts rather than opinion,” says Sengupta. “Saying things like, ‘I'm seeing the case numbers in our community continuing to rise,’ or ‘School just transitioned fully to remote instruction,’ can keep the focus on the facts of what’s happening in the community.”

Kenneth E. Leonard, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UB Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, was interviewed in a report on the rise in opioid-related drug overdoses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “At the individual level, there is substantial stress that has resulted from the pandemic. Substance users are at higher risk for contracting COVID, and many have preexisting conditions that would make their prognosis worse,” Leonard said. “The economic stress of unemployment, and under-employment through furloughs or reduced hours, also increase the likelihood of relapse.”

The Buffalo News published an extensive profile of Uriel Halbreich, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of biobehavioral research. Halbreich is part of a movement in patient-centered medicine that aims to support all patients, including vulnerable populations. Halbriech told the News, “Mental well-being is an important part of every aspect of human life and every aspect of health.”

Michael R. Cummings, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, was interviewed in a story on the City of Buffalo’s efforts to develop a Behavioral Health Team to work with Buffalo police on responding to calls that may involve someone who has a mental illness. The effort has come under scrutiny, with some social workers saying they cannot do their jobs properly while working with law enforcement. Cummings offered a different perspective, telling WBEN, “Is it a complete solution? Absolutely not. But for individuals to assert that social workers, mental health workers, psychiatrists, psychologists and physicians can’t work collaboratively on the same team as law enforcement is blatantly ridiculous.”

“Immigration reform is a key issue for our electorate. Individuals and families seeking asylum have become lightning rods for this federal administration,” says Kim Strong Griswold, MD, professor of family medicine and psychiatry, in an “Another Voice” piece printed by the Buffalo News. “In Buffalo, we welcome refugees – legally resettled through the Office of Refugee Resettlement – and have long cared for people seeking asylum who are represented by a cadre of immigration attorneys,” say Griswold and co-author Danielle Bernas.

In recent years, telehealth has grown in popularity among the medical and behavioral health communities, but the COVID-19 crisis has made telehealth a necessity. Kenneth E. Leonard, PhD, professor of psychiatryand director of UB’s Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions notes: “We have heard anecdotally from psychiatry providers that the ‘no show’ rate has declined dramatically and that the patients prefer [online] treatment.” The improved efficiency of online care could get more patients to show up at their appointments. Leonard says that on one side, increased efficiency makes it easier for patients to show up for their appointments. Conversely, “they might be able to avoid confrontations about non-compliance with treatment.”

Linda F. Pessar, MD, director of the Center for Medical Humanities and professor emeritus of psychiatry, discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. She covers topics including resilience, symptoms of various mental illnesses, what to do if suicidal thoughts and feelings arise, and how the pandemic might exacerbate symptoms.

Sourav Sengupta, MD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry, is quoted in an article on the effects stress has on pregnancy. A prolonged stress response can take a toll on your body, according to Sengupta, and, right now, “there’s no way that any of us as adults aren’t at a heightened stress level during this period,” he said. 

Sourav Sengupta, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, answers questions from people facing COVID-19 on the front-lines — including first responders, health care workers and those in essential businesses. Sengupta discusses ideas and strategies related to areas such as gaining healthy sleep; preventing overexposure to news outlets and news stories; reducing anxieties about exposing family members to COVID-19; and helping retail workers protect themselves when interacting with customers.

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be serious for both adults and children. Sourav Sengupta, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, answers questions about how the pandemic might affect youths. “It’s important to remember that children can have a variety of responses to these kinds of really challenging situations. It can vary from anything from sadness, to anger, to anxiety. We need to give them some space to really feel that and to express that to us. Sometimes as parents, as adults, we get a little bit uncomfortable when our children express strong emotions, but this is a time when they really need to get it out,” he says.

Stress, which is inescapable during the COVID-19 pandemic, causes harmful physical effects. A Best Life article references a 2009 study — published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology — co-authored by Bruce D. Miller, MD, that examined pathways linking emotional stress, depressive symptoms, autonomic nervous system dysregulation and airway function in childhood asthma. The study showed that depressed children with asthma exhibit a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system along with increased airway compromise. Miller is a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics.