Mental health providers getting creative
Remote therapy sessions provide 'lifeline' to patients
Humboldt County’s coronavirus pandemic — and the anxiety surrounding it — have left some residents uncertain how to cope.
The global coronavirus pandemic and the statewide shelter-in-place order that emerged as a result of it have produced a new kind of “grief” for the way things used to be, said one social worker.
Doctors and nurses are navigating the front lines of a crisis that could soon hit Humboldt County. In a media session on Friday, the county public health officer encouraged medical care providers to find ways to de-stress.
“I think it’s going to become an increasing problem for us all as we go through this,” said Dr. Teresa Frankovich. “It’s good for
people to think about what they can do to reduce that level.”
But what about the rest of the county’s residents who are being told to shelter in place and go to public spaces only when absolutely necessary?
Several people who spoke to the Times-Standard in recent weeks said they were struggling with anxiety over the pandemic’s swift alteration of everyday life.
To respond to the sudden change in times, therapists have switched over to “tele-health,” consulting with clients over apps like Zoom or telephone calls.
It’s been an adjustment, said Larissa Krause, an associate clinical social worker at Humboldt NeroHealth.
“One client has COPD and is at high risk,” Krause said. “She’s incredibly
lonely and doesn’t get to see human faces. Those phone calls are the way she gets through the week… it’s a lifeline.”
In some ways, the universality of the pandemic has been a source of comfort. Krause said that children she helps are comforted to see, over FaceTime, that she is also sheltering in place.
Mental health initiatives like Out of the Darkness walks that take place in the fall in Arcata usually involve people being physically around each other. But a new set of social rules is forcing local organizers to rethink how to forge a sense of community.
“Now people are having to find ways to seek online support,” said Heather
Freitas, who organizes the walks. “I think everything’s segmented right now because we’re not allowed to be with each other… I’m really hoping that we’re still able to host the walk this year.”
Krause said residents are going through the five stages of grief as the pandemic worsens and anxiety mounts.
Some of the people she works with are in denial that the “old normal” is gone, she said. Others are bargaining how much they can get away with spending time outdoors.
The process ends with accepting that things aren’t going back to the way they were and trying finding happiness in one’s own environment.
“We’re all trying to find balance in this very uncertain time,” Krause said. “It’s scary and hard, and we all need someone to hold space for us.”