Covid-19 and changes in defensive mechanisms against depression among nursing home caregivers/ Covid-19 et remaniement des défenses contre la dépression chez les soignants en Ehpad

The responses of nursing homes to the present pandemic and lock-down reveal and amplify the usual defensive mechanisms deployed by professional caregivers against depression. The danger of death and the need to confine the residents, both coming from the outside world, and the permanent management of physical protective measures do not remove the feeling of uselessness and the anxiety of death that the nursing staff habitually tolerates or avoids. On the contrary, these aspects add to caregivers’ need to talk and be listened to.