Recently, there have been several media reports, both regionally and nationally, concerning the consequences of the pandemic we are now living through and how it has contributed to an increase in mental health issues and illness.
- Mental Helse Norge is experiencing a high volume of calls to their helpline (NRK, March 24, 2021), and Kirkens SOS answered 2,391 calls between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday in 2021. Twenty-five percent of the calls concerned suicide, an increase from 21 percent the previous year (HT, April 6, 2021).
- Tarjei Jensen Bech (county deputy leader in Troms og Finnmark for the Labour Party) wrote an article in HT on April 6, 2021, "Zero vision for suicide in Troms og Finnmark" where he writes "waiting times in psychiatry must be reduced and help must be obtained quickly, more low-threshold services should be established and we should contribute to more openness and less taboo around mental health and suicide.
- On April 26, the newspaper VG featured a report on the concerning mental health of students based on the SHOT survey (Student Health and Well-being Survey), written by Ingvild Vik and Randi Elise Midtskog. The number of students experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm during the pandemic is high. Student leaders are now demanding immediate help for those who are struggling the most.
- Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim calls the findings a serious message from the students. "The proportion who say they have serious mental health issues is as high as 45 percent, which is disheartening."
- Kari-Jussie Lønning is the head of the steering group for the SHOT survey. "We were worried there would be an increase, but that it is this large is something we must take seriously," she says. "There is reason to view these findings in connection with the pandemic and infection control measures. Mental health needs to be trained, just like physical health. You need people around you that you trust, can feel good with, but also share sorrows with. When we are deprived of this over a long period, our mental health takes a toll," she says.
What is IoPT?
What is IoPT, and how can IoPT help relieve the public healthcare system in Norway during the particularly stressful situation we are currently experiencing? IoPT stands for Identity-oriented Psychotrauma Theory and Therapy. IoPT has a solid professional foundation in scientifically recognized psychological theory, such as attachment theory and trauma theory.
The theory has been developed through 30 years of systematic clinical testing, led by the German professor of psychology, Dr. Franz Ruppert. IoPT is a method and theory that, in addition to being a profound and highly effective therapy, is also suitable for lighter forms of work such as coaching, guidance, and supportive conversations.
Practical "selfencounters"
Through the practical work with IoPT, arrangements are made for selfencounters in a form that enables the person to make contact with parts of themselves that are usually difficult to relate to or inaccessible to the conscious self.
This is done gently and in a way that is guided by—and simultaneously strengthens—the healthy mental structures within the person, relating to autonomy and self-care. The method has proven to be very effective because it is designed to bypass psychological defense mechanisms that otherwise often block this connection.
Because this "bypassing" of defense mechanisms is guided by a person's own healthy psychological resources, and because time is spent integrating the experiences that created the defense mechanisms, we see that unhelpful defense mechanisms that previously caused much distress and problems in a person's life gradually "settle down".
The method also makes it possible to work with trauma experiences from the pre-verbal stage. When such early traumas are integrated, we see a particularly significant impact on a person's access to healthy mental resources and an increased ability and capacity to handle everyday life and work.
As a theory and method, IoPT focuses on working through psychological trauma, hereafter simply referred to as trauma, to strengthen each person's healthy mental resources. It is important to clarify in this context that IoPT uses a broad definition of trauma. Trauma is understood as "wounds" in the mental self-structure, caused by a psychological defense reaction that occurs when people experience stress that is overwhelming in the sense that the person lacks the physical or psychological resources to defend themselves or escape. This means there is no requirement to have been in mortal danger or experienced other outwardly dramatic life events to talk about the need to work through a trauma based on our understanding. Whether a person is traumatized is not defined by symptoms or other diagnostic criteria.
This broad understanding of trauma and traumatization is important to know in order to understand that IoPT is a therapeutic method well suited not only for those diagnosed with trauma disorders, but also for people seeking therapy for entirely different reasons.
The times we live in
During this time when so many in our society are experiencing intense pressure due to the pandemic, infection control measures, and their consequences, the need is greater than ever for initiatives that promote good physical and mental health and help prevent illness in the population.
We want to point out the necessity for the authorities to provide practical and financial support for the community of IoPT therapists and supervisors. These are organized through the Norwegian Trauma Therapist Association (NTF) and represent a valuable resource in relieving public health services during this demanding situation.
IoPT therapists can contribute effectively to this work, both as an offering for individuals with moderate to severe conditions who are not entitled to further public treatment, and for those with mild to moderate symptom levels who often end up far back in the queue or are rejected when their general practitioner refers them to specialized healthcare services, leaving them effectively without support.
There is no doubt that we are currently facing major challenges when it comes to safeguarding the public's mental health. We believe that IoPT trauma therapy is an important contribution during this demanding time, so that the coronavirus pandemic does not also become a mental health pandemic.
If you would like to know more about IoPT, you can sign up for an information evening regularly organized by IoPT Norway or read more here.
