June 4th, 2020
By Janine Weisman
Mental health infrastructure has come a long way since 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. Social isolation, a key strategy to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 , is considered a significant risk factor for suicidality. So school closures, mandated face masks, and bans on large gatherings along with the most rapid change in the employment sector ever recorded in the U.S. have led to growing dread that suicide rates might rise. But is an increase in the suicide rate inevitable? Not according to Jerry Reed, Ph.D., MSW, a nationally recognized leader in the field of suicide prevention. “I think it’s really important [More]
Tags: Mental health, suicide prevention, suicidal ideation, coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, Crisis Text Line, 211, social isolation
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May 7th, 2020
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Across the country, as we deal with the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic, therapists are turning to video platforms for delivering care. For some, it’s an extension of what they were already doing, but for others this is a whole new world. “Therapists are quickly shifting their practices online,” said Rachel McCrickard, LMFT, CEO & founder of Motivo, a video platform that provides clinical supervision. “Many have formal training and/or extensive experience in the delivery of telehealth, and many do not.” By this point, you have probably made the decision whether to do on-line therapy and have done the research [More]
Tags: telehealth, COVID-19, pandemic, online therapy, conferencing platforms, video conference
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May 6th, 2020
By Eileen Weber
Coronavirus, or COVID-19 , has ground most of daily life to a halt for weeks. Small businesses are shut down. Children aren’t going to school. People are confined to their homes clinging tightly to toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Globally, there are more than two million cases of the virus with tens of thousands of deaths. The United States has hundreds of thousands of cases with hotspots in areas of New York and Massachusetts and growing pockets in the South and Midwest. But when it comes to issues surrounding the coronavirus, there is one thing that’s been largely overlooked: kids [More]
Tags: children, kids, coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, autistic, structure, routine
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March 26th, 2020
By Janine Weisman
Prep work required for clinicians to deliver remote treatment effectively, founder says The coronavirus pandemic forced the temporary closure of many mental health treatment programs for high risk youth, leaving them without the structure, social interaction, and emotional support essential to recovery. The Boston Child Study Center was in a good position to bridge this gap. In January, 40 percent of patients served by its offices on Boylston Street and in Natick, Massachusetts, saw a therapist virtually and 60 percent of patients served by its Los Angeles office did. As part of the center’s shift to 100 percent telehealth delivery, [More]
Tags: Mental health, telehealth, coronavirus, pandemic, Boston Child Study Center, temporary closure
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March 23rd, 2020
By Margarita Tartakovsky, MS
The Coronavirus has sparked widespread concern, particularly now that the World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Supplies are flying off the shelves. Conferences, concerts, and sporting events are all canceled. In most areas, school closures are in effect. A travel ban has been instituted, and we’re encouraged to keep our distance from others. It’s an anxiety-provoking situation for anyone—and for those with diagnosable anxiety disorders, it can be especially difficult. At her practice, the New England Center for OCD and Anxiety, in Cambridge and Melrose, Mass., psychologist Lisa W. Coyne, Ph.D, is seeing patients with “increased health anxiety.” [More]
Tags: anxiety disorders, distress, coronavirus, pandemic, World Health Organization, OCD, Dr. Coyne
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