[Psychological treatment of headache in times of COVID-19]

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has substantially changed life worldwide in 2020. This also influences the psychological treatment options of patients with headache.

Aim: The present article intends to illustrate the different psychological forms of treatment for headache patients and their implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and methods: Literature review and case reports.

Results: Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological treatment enables the increased stress level in headache patients to be counteracted by using cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques. The changed living conditions are often unfavorable but sometimes also favorable in the course of disease. It can be shown that even during the pandemic, such favorable changes can be used to support patients to cope with their headache.

Conclusion: The digital implementation of psychological approaches makes a major contribution to maintaining psychological treatment of headache patients, so that the individually changed needs can be addressed. With respect to content, stress regulation techniques and increased acceptance gain in importance. Regarding biofeedback there are limitations, which may be overcome by improved technical devices.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Digitalization; Headache; Stress management.