Experiences of Mental Health Professionals with Control and Labor Demands during the Implementation of Teleconsultation at a University Care Center during the First Stage of the COVID-19 Lockdown

Introduction: The implementation of teleconsultation during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic created work stress for mental health professionals, who were obliged to act in a timely manner without previously tested procedures. Objective: To describe the experiences of mental health professionals with control and work demands during the implementation of teleconsultation at a university health care center during the first phase of COVID-19. Method: This is a qualitative study with a phenomenological design. Twenty-eight focused interviews were conducted with the mental health team of a university health care center to explore the experiences of control and work demands associated with technological, organizational and human limitations. Results were analyzed using the meaning categorization technique: 1. Control/demand in the technological domain; 2. Control/demand in the organizational domain; and 3. Control/demand in the human domain. Results: Lack of structure, intermittent schedules, inclusion of technical assistance that conditioned their work, lack of control over meeting job demands, difficulty caring for high-risk patients, and no strategy for controlling a space that will guarantee confidentiality, constitute a high-stress scenario for professional performance. Discussion and conclusion: Lack of experience in the implementation of teleconsultation creates stress and distrust in the ability to establish therapeutic relationships. There is a need to construct teleconsultation care protocols for crisis care.