Trauma counselling for medical staff, the need of the hour

FRONTLINE WORKERS MUST REALISE THAT TALKING TO A PROFESSIONAL WILL HELP

We need to reach out to them in whichever way possible. Being frontline medical workers, their priority right now is to save people’s lives . But what is also needed is to make them aware that their mental health is important as well and that they can be more resilient and cope with this crisis in a much better manner with the help of counselling. We do have some centres in Mumbai trying to reach out to them.

Sachita Sethi Sodha, counselling psychologist and arts-based therapy

practitioner, Mumbai

HOSPITALS NEED TO MAKE MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING MANDATORY FOR COVID STAFF

The way we’re seeing death is something no one has seen before. Healthcare personnel have a lot of existential questions and hospitals need to have that support system for their staff to deal with it. They should be given regular counselling sessions as a mandate. Talking to friends and family isn’t enough. This also impacts the quality of care that they’re able to give to patients. How will they give their 100% if they themselves aren’t emotionally strong? That’s where mental health professionals come in.

Priyanka Varma, psychologist

As the battle against Covid-19 becomes long drawn, healthcare workers have become vulnerable to extreme mental stress. There are several reasons behind this — the trauma at work, the fear that it might be a risk to themselves and their families, and lack of adequacy and protection. All this combined is leading to severe psychological distress among healthcare staff on Covid-19 duty. The big question: Are hospitals taking cognisance of this problem and providing support to their staff in the form of counselling and therapy?