Conclusion
This study showed that patients in the anxiety/depression spectrum are having more trouble accessing a doctor/psychologist when they need one. The organization of mental health services during the pandemic is probably sufficient for those with severe mental disorders, but may be lacking in serving less severe patient groups. Future studies should ideally include an assessment of patients’ personal preferences on this topic. It may not be possible or feasible to provide an accessible doctor for every patient; but apparently that may be the key to success, at least for anxiety/depression/OCD spectrum patients who constitute the majority of all mental patients.
Table 1. Sociodemographic variables of the sample by diagnostic group