Relevance. Despite the fact that currently the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is decreasing worldwide, the impact of the negative consequences of the epidemic on the psyche of millions of people is difficult to overestimate. The stress experienced and possible new «waves» of infection support the relevance of providing professional assistance to persons with psychological problems caused by the pandemic.

Intention: To analyze modern strategies of brief psychotherapy for stressful conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology. The theoretical analysis of the basics of the three leading areas of brief psychotherapy and their application in dealing with the pathological fear of getting sick with coronavirus and covidhypochondria is carried out.

Results and Discussion. The article presents three models of providing brief psychological assistance in the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic – brief strategic therapy, solution focused brief therapy and the method of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Interventions based on them are considered for the pathological fear of getting COVID-19 and covid-hypochondria.

Conclusion. In the case of therapy for fear of coronavirus infection, the standard protocol of the EMDR method is optimal, which implies working with negative material from the past, present and future. In the case of covid-hypochondria therapy, a strategic therapy protocol based on the «Self-examination» technique combined with significant isolation from the coronavirus-related information field demonstrates good results. In addition, in both cases, it will be useful to update psychological resources for coping with stress.

Relevance. To this day, there are no valid and reliable tools for assessing the level of hypnotizability in Russia. Those techniques that are used for these purposes by Russian specialists are not standardized and are not recognized by the world scientific community as psychodiagnostic tools. Meanwhile, English-language science is replete with highly accurate and reliable methods for assessing hypnotizability.

Intention — To adapt into Russian one of the most popular psychodiagnostic tools in the world of psychotherapeutic practice for assessing the level of hypnotizability — the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS).

Methodology. As part of the current study, the original English version of the EHS was translated and adapted into Russian. It was attended by 105 native Russian speakers (44 men and 61 women), with an average age of 30.2 years. Each of them underwent an individual hypnotic session, according to the EHS protocol. For statistical analysis of the data, non-parametric tests were used: Cronbach’s alpha — to measure the reliability of the scale, the Mann — Whitney U-test to identify differences between hypnotizability groups, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient — to calculate the intercorrelation of the scales.

Results and Discussion. The results of linguistic expertise testify to the high quality of the translation in terms of conveying meaning and style, as well as the correspondence of the translated text to the original. EHS includes the minimum number of hypnotic suggestions needed to perform a highly differentiated assessment and requires only 20 to 30 minutes for diagnosis and data processing. Mathematical analysis of the data confirms that the Russian version of the EHS demonstrates high distinctiveness, good internal consistency and intercorrelation of the scales, and does not contain unnecessary elements.

Conclusion. The adapted version of the EHS is fully suitable for assessing the level of hypnotizability of people who are native speakers of the Russian language.

Relevance. There is a lack of psychological knowledge of patients of cosmetology clinics, although the role of psychological factors in the occurrence, course and treatment of facial skin problems is proved by clinical experience and a number of foreign studies. Among the psychological factors, the emotional state of patients and personal resources of coping with stress are potentially of the greatest importance.

Intention: To determine and compare the level of neuroticism , the level of perceived stress and the level of psychological well-being in groups of women with varying degrees of facial skin defects, as well as the dynamics of these indicators in the process of cosmetic treatment.

Methodology. Using a standardized interview and a set of psychodiagnostic methods: “Level of neuroticism” (UN), “Scale of perceived stress” (ShVS-10), “Index of well-being” (WHO-5), 188 patients of the cosmetology clinic (mean age 40.0 ± 0.8) were divided into groups with low, medium and significant facial skin defects based on the dermatologist’s expert evaluation. Methods of mathematical and statistical data analysis were used: Pearson’s χ2, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), one-sample T-test.

Results and Discussion. The results of the study didn’t confirm the assumption that the level of neuroticism, experienced stress and psychological well-being are related to the severity of the cosmetic problem, although the groups differ statistically significantly in the nature of clinical symptoms and their duration. The measured indicator of the UN technique in all groups of patients both before the start of treatment and after it indicated the probability of neuroticism as 0.13, while the probability of its absence was 0.87. At the same time, in each group of patients and in general, the overall level of perceived stress and the “overstrain” indicator (ShVS-10) were significantly higher than normative values (p = 0.001), as well as the level of stress resistance was significantly lower (p = 0.001) than the normative test indicator. All these data combined show the emotional stability of the personality and good coping resources of the studied women, despite experiencing stressful or traumatic (9 people) situation. In all groups, there was a statistically significant positive dynamics of psychodiagnostic indicators at the end of the course of therapeutic correction.

Conclusion. A psychological examination of the patients of the aesthetic medicine clinic revealed a low level of neuroticism in groups of women with mild, moderate and significant facial skin cosmetic problems, as well as the absence of differences between groups in this indicator. At the same time, indicators of subjective experience of stress associated with dissatisfaction with one’s appearance were increased, with their downward dynamics in the course of treatment. The data obtained allow us to determine the main directions and resources of psychological assistance to patients of the cosmetology clinic. The limitations of the study, which at the same time represent its prospects, are associated with obtaining the results of a comparative analysis of the parameters of patients in a cosmetology clinic with normative data for all psychological tests (not only according to the ShVS), as well as with expanding the range of studied psychological characteristics.

Relevance. Modern conditions of society functioning, change of educational and professional standards demand to update the concept of adjustment. Nowadays, the efficient functioning in society as well as maintaining a customary life quality requires a significant stretch of one’s adaptation potential. Problem of adjustment disorder is a discussion matter in many researches; however, the most significant challenge is a search for personality’s mental ill-being markers associated with psychological adjustment disorders, as well as the ways to neutralize these disorders.

Intention. Via generalization of adjustment phenomenon knowledge, to demonstrate the psychological basis of adjustment functional system; highlight the traits of individual’s psychology capable of being the risk factors in adjustment disorder.

Methodology. The theoretical analysis of «adjustment» phenomenon has been conducted. By comparison of the research data in physiological, medical and psychological approaches, the determination of pre-nosological markers of psychological adjustment disorder has been attempted. The mental (psychological) nature of adjustment process and its disorders is of particular interest.

Results and Discussion. The article presents the theoretical review of adaptation phenomenon. Subject to analysis are the difficulties of its definition and contradictions that appear when working with this concept, which is common for a number of studies (psychology, biology, physics etc.). The author looks into the genesis and dynamics of this process, adaptedness criteria, as well as the forms of compensatory behavior in case of adaptation (adjustment) disorder.

Conclusion. Interdisciplinary interest in the problem is explained by the complex polysystem structure of the adaptation phenomenon, the mechanisms of which have not yet been fully studied. Versatility of manifestations, which simultaneously affect biological, physiological, mental and social aspects, the lack of methodological elaboration introduces discrepancies and confusion into the study of this phenomenon. The results of the analysis will allow us to identify risk factors and markers of pre-nosological disorders of mental adaptation, which can be taken into account in the process of organizing psychoprophylactic measures.

Relevance. The study of empathy features in adolescents using social networks makes it possible to identify specific components of social competencies in interpersonal communication. Empathy components such as emotional response and sensitivity, respect for the feelings of others may be associated with the severity of problematic social networks use signs.

Intention was to study the empathy features of adolescents with different levels of problematic social networks use signs.

Methodology. The study involved 90 school students aged 15 years (48.9% boys and 51.1% girls). The study was carried out using the following psychological methods: Problematic Facebook Use Scale – PFUS; Emotional Empathic Tendency Scale – EETS. Methods of mathematical statistics were as follows: cluster analysis, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The results were checked for the normal distribution of data. The article presents the arithmetic means and their standard deviations (M ± SD).

Results and Discussion. According to the results of the study, adolescents with pronounced signs of problematic social networks use showed more developed empathy skills, which tended to decrease in the presence of obsessive thoughts about the use of social networks and the negative consequences of their excessive use. There was a higher self-assessment of their empathic abilities when using social networks to regulate their emotional state. There was also a decrease in emotional sensitivity with adverse consequences due to the priority use of social networks. Adolescents with less severe signs of problematic networks use showed higher emotional sensitivity and a decrease in the ability to adopt the psycho-emotional state of another person when using social networks as a means for emotional regulation. A limited ability to express an emotional response in the presence of obsessive thoughts about the use of social networks was revealed. Also, this group was characterized by higher self-assessment of their own skills of respectful understanding the feelings of other people while having difficulties in controlling the duration of social networks use.

Conclusion. The results of studying the characteristics of empathy among adolescents with different severity of signs of problematic social networks use could be used for developing prevention programs at the universal, selective and indicative levels. In addition to preventing the formation of problematic social networks use as a type of addictive behavior, preventive programs may include activities aimed to develop social communication skills and empathy.

Relevance. The study is relevant due to the fact that patients have an increase in the number of clinical signs of the disease that persist for 60 days or more after suffering an acute COVID-19 infection.

Intention − to assess the clinical and laboratory characteristics of persons suffering from longterm consequences of COVID-19 infection in order to improve their medical and psychological support and maintain sanitary and epidemiological well-being in society.

Methodology. When conducting the study in accordance with its purpose, the search methodology was used to select scientific articles published in the period from 2010 to 2022 in the electronic databases Google Scholar, PubMed, Cochrane review, e-Library. The search query included keywords and their combinations: pandemic, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, long COVID, post COVID, long haul, chronic COVID, post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, postacute COVID syndrome, persisting COVID, COVID complications, SARS-CoV-2 complications, lingering COVID, pandemic, subacute COVID-19 infection syndrome, prolonged course of COVID-19.

Results and Discussion. The features of psycho-neurological disorders in patients with residual disorders after a COVID-19 infection are considered in terms of improving their medical and psychological support and maintaining sanitary and epidemiological well-being in society, and their possible pathophysiological mechanisms. Clinical manifestations and putative pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to the nervous system damage in COVID-19 are reviewed in the light of parallels with the pathophysiology of acute COVID-19. Relationship between race / ethnicity and COVID-19 was analyzed, as well as the facts that affect the mentality, and hence the mental wellbeing of society during the current pandemic of COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion. Given the scale of the pandemic, it is believed that even a small proportion of individuals with long-term COVID will create a significant burden of ongoing disease. Therefore, today it is believed that the approach to the treatment of patients with post-COVID syndrome should be customized in accordance with the diagnosed clinical signs and syndromes on the basis of current regulatory documents. However, the current understanding of the long-term risk factors for COVID and their frequency remains unsatisfactory to the needs of society, which prevents understanding the situation, as well as influencing it through implementation of the required medical and psychological interventions based on the available actual indicators.

Relevance. Mental health is an important characteristic of the professional reliability of military personnel. At the same time, extreme conditions of professional activity often contribute to deterioration of their mental health and development of mental disorders.

Intention: To analyze mental health indicators in officers and warrant officers (hereinafter referred to as officers) of the Armed Forces (AF) of Russia and the Republic of Belarus for the period from 2003 to 2020.

Methodology. There were analyzed medical reports on the state of mental health of the personnel and the activities of the medical service according to Form 3 / MED in military units, where at least 80 % of officers served. Mental disorders were correlated with groups (blocks) of Chapter V “Mental and behavioral disorders” according to the International Classification of Diseases and Behavioral Disorders, 10th revision (ICD-10). Mental morbidity was calculated per 10 thousand military personnel.

Results and Discussion. Annual overall morbidity in officers with mental disorders averaged (73.31 ± 7.69) and (58.95 ± 5.44) per 10 thousand in the AF of Russia and the Republic of Belarus, respectively; primary morbidity, (26.41 ± 1.16) and (24.66 ± 2.36), respectively; hospitalizations, (21.83 ± 1.33) and (13.89 ± 1.50) (p < 0.01), respectively; work days lost, (450.6 ± 29.1) and (312.2 ± 48.0) (p < 0.05); dismissals (4.77 ± 0.59) and (2.33 ± 0.38) (p < 0.01). At the same time, polynomial trends of generalized types of morbidity showed a decrease. There was a pronounced consistency in the trends of overall and primary morbidity, hospitalizations, work days lost and dismissals among officers with mental disorders in the AF of Russia and the AF of the Republic of Belarus, thus suggesting unidirectional effects, including military professional ones. In the structure of the military epidemiological significance of mental disorders for officers of the Russian AF, the following leading disorders were revealed: neurotic stress-related and somatoform disorders (Block 5, F40–F48 by ICD-10), mental disorders and behavioral disorders associated with the use of psychoactive substances (Block 2, F10–F19), as well as organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders (Block 1, F00–F09). Their total share amounted to 81.4 %. For officers of the AF of the Republic of Belarus, the leading disorders were from Block 5, unspecified mental disorders (Block 11, F99) and personality and behavioral disorders in adulthood (Block 7, F60–F69); their total share was 80.1 %.

Conclusion. Optimization of psychoprophylactic measures focused on early detection, timely treatment of the most relevant mental disorders among officers of the Armed Forces of Russia and the Republic of Belarus will help maintain mental health and increase their professional longevity.

Relevance. On 01.01.2023, the 11th revision of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health-related Problems (ICD-11) will be introduced worldwide.

Intention. To conduct a comparative analysis of the changes made to the eleventh revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health–Related Problems (ICD-11), which are associated with the concept of «neurotic disorders».

Methodology. A descriptive methodological analysis of two editions of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health–Related Problems – 10 (ICD-10) and 11 (ICD-11) was used.

Results and Discussion. The concept of «neurotic disorder» leaves the ICD-11 and a monothematic approach to the diagnosis of diseases comes to the fore, which unites disorders into homogeneous groups in essence. Neurotic disorders in their more traditional sense have not disappeared, and the new version of the ICD reflects new scientific achievements necessary for specific purposes of the health system.

Conclusion. The results of the analysis demonstrate how the classification of neurotic disorders is organized now, in the new version of ICD-11. The article is intended primarily for doctors and clinical psychologists.