Page 42 - Healthcare News July-August 2020

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONT’D
more thing is too much.”
COVID-19 has changed many aspects of
life, including the grieving process when
a person dies. While the death rate has risen due to the pandemic, funeral homes have severely reduced public services over concerns of spreading coronavirus. Dr. Joy Brock, director of the CONCERN Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at River Valley Counseling Center, said not being able
to go through a normal grieving process brings stress and anxiety for many.
“Because people can’t attend a funeral for a friend or relative, they struggle with how to handle their grief,” she explained.
When normal support systems are taken away, even simple things that bring com- fort, like visiting a friend, must now be done from a distance. For doctor and thera- pist visits, it means using telehealth to try to help people over the phone or through an online audio/video feed.
“A lot of the work in the behavioral- health field comes from assessing how
a person is presenting to us,” Favorite
said. “If we’re counseling someone on the phone, it’s hard to tell if they are upset or smiling, so we’ve been training ourselves to pick up different cues to see how they are doing.”
Screen Time
The behavioral-health professionals HCN spoke with all said telehealth is one area they didn’t use a great deal before, but will likely remain an important part of their offerings long after COVID-19 is under control.
Several months ago, Dr. Elaine Campbell and her staff at River Valley Counseling Center were exploring different platforms for telehealth but hadn’t made any firm decisions. Then COVID-19 hit.
“In a week’s time, we went from hav- ing some knowledge to getting 180 clini- cians up and running on telehealth,” said Campbell, the senior program director for Outpatient Services.
All of MHA’s appointments are either on
the telephone or through an online audio/ video app. While in-person visits would be ideal, Kendall said, her staff has discovered several benefits by using telehealth.
typical day.”
As comforting as the home environment
can be, sometimes it’s too much of a good thing and can severely test relationships.
“We’ve had people who are better at keep- ing their appointments and sometimes adding appointments because they feel safer on the phone or through our online app,” she told HCN.
“If we’re counseling someone on the phone, it’s hard to tell
if they are upset or smiling, so we’ve been training ourselves to pick up different cues to see how they are doing.”
Brock added that
telehealth over the
phone works well when
someone needs a fast re-
sponse. “A client called
and said, ‘I need to talk
to somebody today,’ and we were able to say, ‘here’s a counselor; you can talk to them right now.’”
LAUREN FAVORITE
After five months, businesses are begin- ning to reopen, and workers are returning to their jobs, but the stress and anxiety due to concerns about COVID-19 remain. Go- ing back to the workplace creates different challenges for different
people. Many who work
from home enjoy being
with their family and not
having a daily commute.
Before the pandemic, Brock said, spouses and families were not typically on top of each other all day.
“Normally, we leave the house to go to work, and it’s exciting to see each other again, and we go out and do things in the community,” she said, adding that, while sheltering in place is a physically healthy thing to do, all that togetherness can be a
Kendall said has spoken
with people who have
developed new routines
and have even boosted
their productivity while
working from home. “For
these folks, going back
into the workplace poses
a feeling of risk and the
fear of getting sick with the virus.”
On the other hand, other workers who have been home are looking forward to returning to the office. Kendall mentioned a recent meeting with a co-worker who said it felt good to be around other adults again. “Sometimes it takes an event like COVID-19 to realize how meaningful the relationships with our colleagues is to a
DR. ELAINE CAMPBELL
challenge for some relationships. “Sometimes the psychological stuff we’ve
been ignoring for a while can bubble up, and issues that had been fine in the past are now a problem.”
Please see Stress, page 58
“I tell parents all the time, their kids will be fine if parents offer reassurance and give them confidence that we’ll all get through this.”
1 in 5 people experience mental illness.
True Partners in Care.
You have a say in feeling better. Active participation can make all the difference to your emotional well being. That’s why the team at River Valley Counseling Center establishes true partnerships with every client.
Offices conveniently located in Easthampton, Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield. Telehealth and In-Person Services offered.
To learn more visit rvcc-inc.org or call 413-540-1234.
RVCC 9.25x2.8 Locations 2020.07.indd 1
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