A free COVID-19 psychological first aid hotline service

With the idea that our society may need psychological support for many different reasons due to the coronavirus epidemic, a psychological support group has been created by the academic staff of the Department of Psychology and graduate students of the Department of Clinical Psychology, Cyprus International University.

The project, called the COVID-19 Psychological First Aid Line (COVID-PIYH), will start actively serving as of April 20, 2020 within the body of Cyprus International University.

CIU Department of Psychology faculty member Asst. Prof. Dr. Manolya Çalışır stated that the “Psychological First Aid Line” can be reached every day of the week between 10:00-22:00 via 0548 858 96 30 and 0548 858 9638 phone numbers and psychologyhotline@ciu.edu.tr e-mail address. She underlined that no fee is charged and all work is carried out on the principle of confidentiality and expert knowledge.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Nihan Tezer Yörük, CIU Department of Psychology faculty member underlined that everyone can benefit from this service, and health workers, municipality officials, police officers, administrators managing the crisis process and their relatives can receive psychosocial counseling and support, especially all parties involved in the fight against COVID-19 and those with a high probability of direct contact.

Another faculty member from the Department of Psychology, Asst. Prof. Dr. Muazzez Merve Avcıoğlu in her statement, said, “relatives of people, who lost their lives due to COVID-19, those who have been receiving treatment or completed their treatment due to COVID-19, and their relatives, people who passed through the quarantine process and their relatives, and all other members of the society who need counseling and support for their psychological health due to epidemic, can also seek advice and support from us”.