Mental health supportive services during COVID-19: Proposing an online, self-guided Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program for parents in the disability community
Parents of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) often experience stress, and the COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased their stress. In the current paper, we describe four things. First, we describe how mental telehealth treatments can effectively decrease parent stress, including programs that target behavior training and those that provide therapy. Teleheath programs are delivered by phone, computer, or fully online. Second, we describe challenges of these programs and explain how online, self-guided programs may help address these challenges. Third, we explain our online, self-guided program based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a specific type of therapy that helps people notice their moods and their thoughts to help manage stress. Finally, we conclude by proposing a call for collaboration to improve and expand our online, self-guided, ACT program
