Family And Mental Health During The Confinement Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Spain: The Perspective Of The Counselors Participating In Psychological Helpline Services

This work focuses on family functioning and mental health difficulties during confinement due to COVID-19 in Spain from the perspective of the counselors who collaborated in the psychological helpline services. A total of 56 helpline psychological counselors from 4 different services participated in this study. The principal results of this study highlight four important aspects: 1) the confinement has generated and/or aggravated previous family and mental health problems; 2) a lack of emotional and/or instrumental support has been the most frequent family problem; 3) anxiety symptoms and feelings of loneliness have proved to be the main manifestations of mental health problems; and 4) the resources most frequently used by the callers were knowing how to regulate their emotions, maintaining an organized life, and receiving support from their family and/or partner. The implications of these results and a description of the situation in Spain are also described.