The Covid-19 pandemic has provided a challenging time for everyone. It has impacted the mental health of many, and will continue to have an impact on mental health for years to come. Some evidence suggests that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted young people, women and those who have previously suffered from mental health problems (Yarington et al 2021; Iob et al., 2020; Rens et al 2021). EACLIPT has been monitoring the situation in Europe since the start of the pandemic. Since EACLIPT members come from all over Europe, the organization aims to provide a synthesis of different approaches to the pandemic used in Europe, and reflect on how national policies adopted by different countries may have impacted differentially on mental health of citizens and provision of treatments. EACLIPT will report to the European Parliament, with the aim of influencing their stance on the impact of psychological interventions. The current situation also offers the opportunity to ensure that evidence-based psychological interventions are on the agenda of policy makers, who are in a position to ensure that psychological therapy is available to those who need it. We need to implement established interventions for mental health problems and mental health conditions, conduct high quality research investigating efficacy of adapted interventions (e.g., blended therapy – online and in person) and develop new interventions to ensure clients receive effective treatments. A lot of research focuses on covid-related incidence, however new research needs to identify effective interventions; tailor existing evidence-based interventions to new situations (i.e., online; blended therapy), adapting treatment to the current needs of those suffering from mental health problems, and developing novel evidenced based interventions. Online therapy, though with its challenges (e.g. setting up certain behavioral experiments), offers an opportunity to engage potential clients who may have been reluctant or unable to do face to face therapy in a classic setting in high income countries, as well as those in low and middle income countries (Aminoff et al., 2021; Fu et al., 2020). There have been clear implications of the pandemic for clinicians - for many that they provided therapy online, working from home, or in clinic with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other COVID-19 related changes have caused challenges in implementation of interventions. There has been an impact on psychologist’s roles within teams, their ability to engage in peer support and need for creative ways to ensure they continue professional development. With adaptations to treatment in mind, we need to hear the voices of recipients of this therapy and identify what they want and need going forward (e.g. choice in face to face and video based sessions). National psychologist organisations’ Covid-related statements and information from European Countries: Netherlands Austria France Spain Portugal Greece Switzerland Sweden Denmark Belgium 1 and Belgium 2 Germany Ireland Romania Cyprus UK 1 and UK 2 Also, please see the United Nations Policy Brief . Literature Aminoff, V., Sellén, M., Sörliden, E., Ludvigsson, M., Berg, M., & Andersson, G. (2021). Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for psychological distress associated with the Covid-19 pandemic: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 684540. Fu, Z., Burger, H., Arjad, I. R., Bockting, C. L. H. (2020). Effectiveness of digital psychological interventions for mental health problems in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 7( 10), 851-864. 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30256-X . Iob, E., Frank, P., Steptoe, A., & Fancourt, D. (2020). Levels of severity of depressive symptoms among at-risk groups in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA network open , 3 (10). https://doi.org /0.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.26064 Rens, E., Smith, P., Nicaise, P., Lorant, V., & Van den Broeck, K. (2021). Mental distress and its contributing factors among young people during the first wave of COVID-19: a Belgian survey study. Frontiers in Psychiatry , 12 , 35. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.575553 Yarrington, J. S., Lasser, J., Garcia, D., Vargas, J. H., Couto, D. D., Marafon, T., ... & Niles, A. N. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among 157,213 Americans. Journal of Affective Disorders , 286 , 64-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.02.056

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 1st European Congress on Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment of EACLIPT , which will take place from 31 October – 2 November 2019 in Dresden, Germany. This will be a landmark event as the first conference ever for the EACLIPT. Submissions for symposia and poster presentations are now open (submission deadlines 30 May and 14 June, respectively). We invite submissions on the full range of clinical psychological research: diagnostics and classification, psychological and psychobiological mechanisms, psychological treatments, prevention and rehabilitation. The conference theme “No Health without Mental Health - European Clinical Psychology Takes Responsibility” expresses our goal to move mental health into societal focus. Mental disorders are among the most debilitating conditions and clinical psychology offers a wide range of preventive and therapeutic interventions. Discussing these, as well as underlying etiological models will be at the heart of the conference. Keynote speakers include: Claudi Bockting (University of Amsterdam) Susan Bögels (University of Amsterdam) David Clark (University of Oxford) Stefan Hofmann (Boston University) Maria Karekla (University of Cyprus) We particularly encourage early career researchers to join the conference. Targeted pre-conference workshops, mentoring and financial support can be offered. The conference will be a unique chance to discuss current challenges for mental health in Europe and initiate collaborations and joint projects with colleagues from all over the continent. Please forward this message in your communities. We are looking forward to seeing you in Dresden! Chairs: Katja Beesdo-Baum, Tanja Endrass, Jürgen Hoyer, Corinna Jacobi, Philipp Kanske, on behalf of the EACLIPT

We are delighted to share our progress so far with you on EACLIPT and update you on some exciting events. The European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT) was founded in 2017 and represents clinical psychology’s academic and scientific interest at a European level. For more information please see www.eaclipt.org or follow us on twitter @eaclipt. ARGUMENTS FOR THE USE OF E-MENTAL HEALTH The EACLIPT Board supports /encourages the use of e-mental health in regular helath care in European countries. Kindly see the below statement with regards to our position on e-mental health - In addition to traditional psychological face-to-face treatments, e-mental health interventions are proven effective measures, as a large number of efficacy and effectiveness studies have shown. In some European countries, e.g., the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Denmark, e-mental health interventions are already part of the regular health care services and do not have to be paid individually. For this purpose, carefully elaborated quality standards have been established in various European countries, which regulate the requirements for the evidence-based use of e-mental health (e.g., in Switzerland, Germany). Particularly in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, e-mental health interventions are an important means of care and prevention of mental health problems in the population. CONFERENCE BELGIUM OCTOBER 2021 LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE The EACLIPT Board looks forward to welcoming you at its third conference the 15th and 16th of October 2021 at the University of Louvain-la-neuve. Due to the uncertainty of the situation in the world concerning the Covid-19 pandemic, we are working hard on an online program for this meeting so everyone will be able to join. COVID-19 EACLIPT CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST SURVEY EACLIPT conducted a survey about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first overall conclusions are that was a challenging time of adjustment but that the forced changes in work were surprisingly more positive than expected. We have recently launched another wave of the survey so changes over time can be investigated. The results of all surveys will be published as soon as feasible. HONORARY TITLE AARON T. BECK This July, Aaron Beck will celebrate his 100th birthday. In light of this occasion and in celebration of his lifelong and groundbreaking contributions to psychology, EACLIPT wants to honor him with an honorary title that fits his achievements for the field of psychotherapy. Therefore, EACLIPT is proud to name him Diamond Distinguished Pioneer of Psychological Interventions. Arguments for the use of e-mental health in regular health care in European countries Supported by the EACLIPT (version 07.12.2020) In addition to traditional psychological face-to-face treatments, e-mental health interventions are proven effective measures, as a large number of efficacy and effectiveness studies have shown. In some European countries, e.g., the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Denmark, e-mental health interventions are already part of the regular health care services and do not have to be paid individually. For this purpose, carefully elaborated quality standards have been established in various European countries, which regulate the requirements for the evidence-based use of e-mental health (e.g., in Switzerland, Germany). Particularly in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, e-mental health interventions are an important means of care and prevention of mental health problems in the population.

We are delighted to share our progress so far with you on EACLIPT and update you on some exciting events. For instance, we provided further representation at the EU parliament. The European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT) was founded in 2017 and represents clinical psychology’s academic and scientific interest at a European level. EACLIPT 2019 The first official European congress on clinical psychology and psychological treatment of EACLIPT was held on 31 Oct - 02 Nov 2019 in Dresden, Germany. We would like to thank prof. dr. Philipp Kanske and his team for organising this high-quality conference. For more information and reports of the conference please check the website or follow the hashtag #EACLIPT2019 . NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT During EACLIPT 2019 the members present elected the new president of EACLIPT, prof. dr. Claudi Bockting. We are excited about the time to come under her leadership and would like to thank prof. dr. Andersson for his strong commitment and leadership over the last 2 years. NEW JUNIOR BOARD MEMBERS We have three new junior board members who were elected during the EACLIPT members meeting this October. Please warmly welcome prof. dr. Jenny Guidi, dr. Colette Hirsch, assoc. prof. dr. Martin Debbanné. EACLIPT AT THE EU PARLIAMENT EACLIPT was represented by prof. dr. Claudi Bockting at the special interest group on Advocating for a comprehensive EU level action programme on mental health at the EU parliament 16/10/2019. The meeting was chaired by T. Zdechovsky (MEP), Member of the group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and vice chair Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. Our statement and a meeting report are provided below. EACLIPT Statement at EU Parliament: Psychological interventions are not only effective treatments and cost effective for most mental health problems and conditions, they are self-empowering interventions. Even more so psychological interventions have sustainable effects. That is, research increasingly showed not only short-term effects but also long-term effect of brief psychological interventions. This is of high importance because most mental health conditions have a recurrent/chronic course. Even more so, sustainable health care systems should include a mental health focus . Given that there is no health without mental health . Emphasize was given on the effect and sustainability of psychological interventions for mental health conditions, but also the empowering effect. Therefore, scale up of these interventions is crucial. Therefore, there are two two priorities: European dissemination of evidence-based cost-effective psychological interventions is of importance. Research: invest substantially on research on innovative psychological interventions for partial response, non-response and relapse prevention for common mental health conditions. Unfortunately, as described in a nature paper, the research on psychological intervention is largely under-supported and underreported. So, facilitating substantial research funding on psychological interventions is crucial. Finally, the fourth issue of EACLIPTs official academic journal CPE hast just been released. Read more here . Concluding remarks Thank you for reading our newsletter and please spread our work. As you know, we are keen to bring more researchers together to collaborate, exchange views and improve psychological research in the long term. We would also be thrilled to hear from you with any views you have on this organisation and how you think it should develop. Feel free to get in touch. Very best, The EACLIPT Board

We are delighted to send on our first EACLIPT newsletter. The European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT) was founded in 2017 and represents clinical psychology's academic and scientific interest at a European level. Thus far, we have represented clinical psychology at senior policy level at various fora across Europe and we are now affiliated with international organisations such as the World Health Organisation. EACLIPT was also mentioned in a final report by the EU parliament. We are sharing the following exciting updates for this year: *Save the date* the first EACLIPT conference will be held 2-3 November 2018 in Linköping, Sweden. A FREE open access journal'Clinical Psychology in Europe: The Official Journal of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment'. The journal offers open access without any article processing charges. Please see here for more information: CPE.PsychOpen.eu. Other prominent clinical psychologist already became member of the EACLIPT and confirmed a contribution to our journal (e.g. David Clark, Stefan Hofmann, Anke Ehlers, Pim Cuijpers, Paul Emmelkamp etc.). You are able to submit manuscripts already! Kind regard, on behalf of all board members EACLIPT, Gerhard Andersson (SWE; President), Winfried Rief (GER), Céline Douillez (FRA), Thomas Ehring (GER), Andreas Maercker (CH), Claudi Bockting (NL), Roman Cieslak (POL)