How are you managing the need for your services in this current climate? (The need is far greater than there are clinicians to treat patients.)
As a psychologist, I have tried to make time available for new patients in my practice, becoming more flexible in the delivery of services by incorporating telehealth services to those patient’s seeking services. During the pandemic, a primary focus has been trying to keep patients’ stabilized while facing the uncertainty of the future. At the time, I was the director of a Psychology Clinic on a University campus as we attempted to manage the pandemic as it affected campus life. We made psychological services available through telehealth to those students who needed services at the time. Primary support was provided to students as we attempted, as a campus, to manage the mental health needs of students while trying to provide a campus life and education in some semblance of normalcy. Disruptions in public life should be met with flexibility and alternative coping strategies that allow for creating as normal of an environment as possible, usually a “new” normal.
What would you say is the most common complaint of your current patients in regard to the pandemic? (isolation, loss of family and friends, work or job related issues, alcoholism or drug abuse.)
Psychological distress, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased in the form of anxiety, depression, and substance use. Increases in post-traumatic stress, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and increasing isolation and loneliness. As mental health services were severely disrupted during this time, many therapists transitioned telehealth services. In my particular practice, patients have manifest a number of reactions, mostly having to do with disruptions in relationships and work. Marital relationships that may have been vulnerable just prior to the pandemic were confronted with increased stress that created fractures in the existing relationship. The isolation of the pandemic has affected social relationships, particularly for young people for whom social relationships are critically important for learning to cope. The difficulties in relationships generally present as increases in anxiety and depression. Some patients expressed grief reactions from the loss of close friends and family members who lost their life due to COVID-19. Other patients increased their consumption of alcohol and the use of marijuana as well as other drugs. Psychological interventions are to be designed and implemented on the basis of the particular individual seeking mental health services.
What advice or strategies do you give to your patients to help them work through their most difficult issues?
Psychotherapy is about understanding the unique experience of an individual and how they have attempted to navigate and cope with life events. Psychotherapy encourages individuals to become more self-aware and to reflect on internal thoughts and feelings which ultimately affect behavior. Psychotherapists utilize listening skills and understanding to assist patients to become resilient to overwhelming situations they may be facing. Assisting patients in learning effective coping skills, problem-solving strategies, and improving relationship skills allows for more effective approaches in their environment. Encouraging patients to follow their general routine as much as possible; maintaining self-care, dressing normally as they would for work or school, eating healthy, and maintaining exercise regimens.
What do you think we as a society can do to help mitigate the mental health crisis that the pandemic has caused?
Due to the potential for the COVID-19 pandemic to return, it has the potential to create and increase everyone’s stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Loneliness and isolation in and of themselves significantly increase the risk for mental health reactions. Young adults, in particular, have been disproportionately affected, with 50% of those aged 18-24 reporting anxiety and depression symptoms in 2023. Children and adolescents have particular vulnerabilities when it comes to impacts on learning and socialization with their peers. A continued awareness of mental health issues associated with COVID-19 can help reduce the stigma of mental health concerns. Increase access to mental health services that will require increased funding to support such programs. Support for healthcare workers and first responders and assisting them in having access to mental health support and resources. Schools, colleges, and universities can implement mental health education to build resilience and understand their emotions more effectively. In other words, these are normal reactions to an abnormal event.