MENTAL health care moving to a blended model of delivery is expected to be one of COVID-19's legacies, as psychologists use technology to support the increased number of people needing help.
University of Newcastle Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin, has led a panel discussion on the impact current complex times are having on health.
The Tuesday event, Better Healthier Living, is an attempt to build hope and available to watch online.
"It's an open and validating conversation about all of the issues from some of our leading experts," she said.
"As well as bringing these issues into the open, what we're hoping to demonstrate to people is that we are aware of it, we are experiencing it as well and we are working really really hard to help our society and especially our local community respond to these issues as they are happening now, but also what we see the issues being in the next two to five years."
Professor Kay-Lambkin said she expected COVID-19 to be a long-term problem.
"The solutions and funding being discussed now is great, but that needs to continue and expand over time, I think there will be a little bit of a sleeper effect."
She said some people were experiencing cognitive dissonance, "where what you think is your vision of the world on the inside doesn't actually match with what's happening on the outside".
"We don't have all the facts, we can't remove all the risks, we can't promise we're going to return to normal and we can't get rid of all the worry," she said.
"It's a real challenge for us all, let alone if you already have mental health concerns coming in to 2020."
Professor Kay-Lambkin said if there was a silver lining, it was that the upheaval had "shone a light on how critical mental health and wellbeing is to everything we do and everything we are and also how chronically underfunded and unsupported our mental health and drug and alcohol services are".
She said she welcomed more conversations and government funding, as well as the "rapid acceptance" that technology could increase access to care.
She said psychologists and therapists will never be replaced, but people could benefit from using additional resources available 24/7.
"It might empower them to be an active agent in their own healthcare and then draw on the real time support of the psychologist, psychiatrist or health professional for those things we can't automate."
She said it was also important to remind people who had disengaged from physical or mental health care over COVID concerns that physically seeking treatment was a lower risk than going without.
Her mantra is "live with it, not in it". She urged others to maintain connections, have structure, unplug and not use alcohol to cope.
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