Queen Máxima spoke about, among other things, the psychological well-being of children and young people in this time. The pressure on child and adolescent psychiatry has increased since the start of the pandemic, as the problems among juveniles and young adults have become more serious and the number of registrations in acute departments has increased. The queen also talked to researchers about developments in the well-being of the Dutch since the start of the corona crisis, about mental resilience and about trends in care demands in mental health care and the treatment thereof.

Provoking and sustaining

UM assistant professor Suzanne van Bronswijk was given the opportunity to illustrate how the corona crisis "has both what we call a provoking and sustaining effect on psychological problems." You see provoking effects, for example, in ex-COVID19 patients in whom the sometimes very lengthy (physical) recovery process also leads to psychological problems. Sustaining effects can arise as a result of the corona measures. These often lead to further social isolation in people who are already vulnerable.

Van Bronswijk: “Good daytime activities are essential for our patients, in addition to the treatment we offer. In many cases, the possibilities for those good daytime activities have declined sharply due to the corona measures. It makes the vulnerable even more vulnerable. ”

Significant impact

Investing in psychological well-being is now very important, was the main conclusion of the conversation with the queen. “That certainly also applies to young people, and therefore to our own UM students. The impact of the corona crisis on the psychological well-being of 16-29 year olds is really significant, also for the groups that had no complaints before the crisis”, says Suzanne van Bronswijk.