Clinic offers free therapy for health workers

UCF RESTORES sessions help people affected by trauma

UCF RESTORES, a clinic that specializes in treating people affected by trauma, has rolled out a free therapy program for responders and health care workers in Florida.

“We’re talking about people who we know are incredibly resourceful and very resilient. So what this program really does is in some ways take what we know is the resilience within these people and help them build on it,” said Dr. Deborah Beidel, founder and executive director of UCF RESTORES.

It’s been well-documented that the current pandemic has placed additional pressures on first responders, resulting in stress, anxiety and burnout. Yet many don’t have enough time to attend regular therapy sessions. Stigma also remains a persisting barrier.

So Beidel and her team designed one-hour, one-time virtual therapy sessions called Single Session Consultations.

“We’re going to call it a single session consultation, because we don’t have to say you’re in treatment. Then you can come and get a consult with a therapist, and by the end of that hour you’re going to leave with a plan that’s going to help you and it’s going to be personalized to your situation and your stressors,” said Dr. David Rozek of UCF RESTORES.

Psychologists began looking into one-session therapy after some studies showed that as many as 40% of the clients didn’t continue therapy beyond one session. Over the years, researchers have shown that the one-time sessions can be helpful to many.

Rozek, who specializes in suicide prevention, has further customized the UCF sessions based on what’s been learned in his field.

“We spend some time talking