Now, a 24/7 call-in service to help you deal with Covid-related mental stress: Here's SERV

In a bid to provide support for the emotional rehabilitation of coronavirus victims, a 24-hour telephone hotline has been started in the country to help patients and their families deal with the day-to-day stress. 

The counselling helpline service, officially known as Support for Emotional Rehabilitation of Virus Victims (SERV), has been launched by The Association of Health Psychologists in collaboration with Actionaid, Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, APTS Social Service Forum, and Raithu Swarajya Vedika to meet the mental health challenges and distress of the patients and their immediate family members who are facing the direct impact of the health emergency. 

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The core group constitutes of professional health psychologists and 130 trained volunteers who are providing tele-counselling to the COVID-19 patients struggling with anxiety, distress, guilt, uncertainty or any other major psychological issues arising out of the trauma of contracting the deadly infection.  

First level of response

The tele-counselling hotline is the first level of response for people under stress who may be overwhelmed due to several reasons like having tested positive to the disease, the psychological impact of isolation, worsening of chronic illness because of COVID-19 infection, etc. The service is available for COVID-19 affected persons, their family members, children or any respective person in the patient's home. The lines currently remain open and have been inundated by the callers from across the country.

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