Frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers across North America are dealing with unprecedented stress, but mental health therapists in both Canada and the US are doing their part to ensure the psychological well-being of their colleagues on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Over the past few weeks, thousands of licensed psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers have signed up to offer free therapy sessions to healthcare professionals who find themselves psychologically overwhelmed by the pandemic’s economic, social, and financial fallout.
In Canada, the movement was started by Toronto psychotherapist Karen Dougherty, MA, who saw a social media post from someone in New York asking mental health workers to volunteer their time.
Inspired by this, Dougherty reached out to some of her close colleagues with a social media post of her own. A few days later, 450 people had signed up to volunteer and Ontario COVID-19 Therapists was born.
The sessions are provided by licensed Canadian psychotherapists and are free of charge to healthcare workers providing frontline COVID-19 care. After signing up online, users can choose from one of three therapists who will provide up to five free phone sessions.
In New York state, a similar initiative — which is not limited to healthcare workers — has gained incredible momentum. On March 21, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of a statewide hotline [844-863-9314] to provide free mental health services to individuals sheltering at home who may be experiencing stress and anxiety as a result of COVID-19.
The governor called on mental-health professionals to volunteer their time and provide telephone and/or telehealth counseling. The New York State Psychiatric Association quickly got on board and encouraged its members to participate.
Just four days later, more than 6,000 mental health workers had volunteered their services, making New York the first state to address the mental health consequences of the pandemic in this way.
Self-care is vital for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as stress mounts and workdays become longer and grimmer. Dougherty recommended that frontline workers manage overwhelming thoughts by limiting their intake of information about the virus.
Self-Care a “Selfless Act”
Clinicians need to balance the need to stay informed with the potential for information overload, which can contribute to anxiety, she said.
She also recommended that individuals continue to connect with loved ones while practicing social distancing. Equally important is talking to someone about the struggles people may be facing at work.
For Amin Azzam MD, MA, the benefits of these initiatives are obvious.
“There is always value in providing additional mental health services and tending to psychological well-being,” Azzam, adjunct professor of psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley, told Medscape Medical News.
“If there ever were a time when we can use all the emotional support possible, then it would be during a global pandemic,” added Azzam, who is also director of Open Learning Initiatives at Osmosis, a nonprofit health education company.
Azzam urged healthcare professionals to avail themselves of such resources as often as necessary.
“Taking care of ourselves is not a selfish act. When the oxygen masks come down on airplanes we are always instructed to put our own masks on first before helping those in need. It’s a sign of strength, not weakness, to seek emotional support,” he said.
However, it isn’t always easy. The longstanding stigma associated with seeking help for mental health issues has not stopped for COVID-19. Even workers who are in close daily contact with people infected with the virus are finding they’re not immune to the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment, Azzam added.
“Nevertheless, the burden these frontline workers are facing is real…and often crushing. Some Ontario doctors have reported pretraumatic stress disorder, which they attribute to having watched the virus wreak havoc in other countries, and knowing that similar difficulties are headed their way,” he said.