COVID-19: April 12 Mental Health Roundup
This month’s collection has been dedicated to help social workers and mental health clinicians cope and work within the challenging COVID-19 environment. Learn how to employ the CBT approach to living with uncertainty, practice while grieving, parent in a pandemic, respond to a pandemic when our institutions cannot, rewire your brain to adapt to COVID stress, get your economic impact payment and much more.
Hoping that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe!
This wrap-up’s main themes are:
- Therapy and Parenting
- Advocacy/Social Justice
- Self-Care/Inspiration
- Social Work, Technology & Education
- Upcoming Free COVID-19 Related Webinars
- Private Practice
Therapy/Parenting
- CBT Approach to Living with Uncertainty – Judith S. Beck – “It can be helpful to think about the best-case scenario and the most realistic outcome—which often falls somewhere between the best case and the worst case…”
- Clinical Intersections: Practicing While Grieving – Danna Bodenheimer/New Social Worker – “Our neurobiology is in a fight or flight mode… We are all winging it, and the feelings of incompetence are utterly exhausting and confusing…”
- Coping with Fear and Sadness During a Pandemic – by Dr. Sanderson and associates at Hofstra University.
- A Glance into a Therapist’s Window in the Time of COVID-19 – Jasmyn Rana – “however universal the emotions faced in this life threatening pandemic, our response to it is driven so strongly from our own prior emotional experiences…”
- How do counselors support clients during the coronavirus pandemic? –
- Lonely at the Top – Social Work podcast interview w/Thomas Joiner – “rebroadcast… One of the solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic is physical distancing… there is a relationship between physical and social distancing…”
- Tell me a story: an intervention for telehealth and beyond –
- Parenting in a Pandemic – free May/June issue of Your Teen Magazine with coping strategies for families sheltering in place, learning at home – do’s and don’ts for parents, staying positive and looking ahead and more.
- Answering Tough Kid Questions and Alleviating Fears Surrounding COVID-19 – webinar recording and slides from the University of Buffalo.
- CNN/Sesame Street coronavirus town hall – “replay of CNN’s Erica Hill and Dr. Sanjay Gupta partner with Sesame Street to explain the ABC’s of coronavirus in a town hall for parents and kids”
- Helping Children Self-Regulate During A Crisis – Therapy Chat interview w/January Roberts – “specific strategies parents can use… examples of how they can help…”
- Help Kids Deal with BIG Feelings – Wendy Young w/Robyn Silverman – “Being quarantined during the coronavirus outbreak with kids can be tough as limited time alone and lots of family togetherness can breed some big feelings like anger and frustration… co-regulate…”
- How has Coronavirus changed a teen’s world? – Bettina Hohnen & Jane Gilmour/JKP – “Separating from parents and hanging out with friends… because they need to become independent…Value their social connections, because they do… Teens need to take risks – so think creatively…”
- Free Books to Explain COVID to Children
- Coronavirus – A Book for Children for children 5 to 9 years old by Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler | Nosy Crow.
- Georgie and the Giant Germ – coloring book from Zero to Thrive at the University of Michigan.
- Social-Emotional Workbook for Kids from the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience and author Denise Daniels. It’s for families and educators of children ages 4 – 10. (Also available in Spanish.)
- Additional free books are to be found in this article.
- 10 Tips to Prevent Fights with Loved Ones During Quarantine – Hilary Jacobs Hendel – “Call a time-out for reflection… Do a self-care check… Do your best to Identify what you are experiencing…”
Advocacy/Social Justice
- Clinicians Must Address Rise in Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans – Helena Ma/PsychCentral – “recent surge in COVID-19 related racism against Asians demonstrates a form of fear-based xenophobia…”
- Coronavirus Pandemic Calls for an Immediate Social Work Response – Heather Walter-McCabe/Social Work in Public Health [open access] – “In addition to those working at the interpersonal levels, there is a need for increased macro level social work…”
- Disability and Inclusion Strategies During COVID-19 – replay of a webinar conducted with Magical Bridge foundation, to address some of the issues disabled and autistic people and their families are struggling with right now.
- How to Respond to a Pandemic When Our Institutions Can’t – Panthea Lee – “mutual aid group… There was never a plan, people just started jumping in to do what they can, where they can… Adopt a bias towards action… Identify concrete problems in your field, and get to it…”
- Inequality for All #MacroSW Twitter Chat 3/26/2020 — SocialWorkSynergy – hosted by Jimmy Young/MacroSW -“Q1: What’s happening today in terms of the distribution of wealth? Why’s it happening?…Q2: When do you think inequality becomes a problem?… chat transcript”
- International Solidarity in a Time of Crisis – Negin Owliaei/Inequality Org.- “global pandemic is showing us very clearly that all human life is interrelated, which means that none of us is safe until all of us are safe…”
- Mental Health Leaders Meet with President Trump to discuss Coronavirus Impact – socialworkblog/ NASW – “Mental health leaders discussed the vital importance of mental health services during the pandemic to address issues of trauma and loss, grief and depression, mental health and substance use disorders…”
- NIH Seeks Volunteers for Coronavirus Study – “study… true magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States by telling us how many people in different communities have been infected without knowing it, because they had a very mild, undocumented illness or did not access testing while they were sick…”
- Social Justice in COVID-19 Response: The Legal Issues – Scott Burris and Wendy E. Parmet – “One key issue is how social distancing measures are implemented. Are they being enforced fairly, with exceptions and enforcement following science and evidence? Or are they being implemented in a manner that reflects existing economic, racial or ethnic disparities?…”
- Suckers for pseudoscience – All in the Mind – “we’re all vulnerable to believing dubious claims… powerful cognitive biases in the brain… illusory causation… interpreting a causal effect when there isn’t really one… illusion of explanatory depth… sense… we kind of know how the world works around us because we can successfully interact with the world…”
- When the Pandemic Leaves Us Alone, Anxious and Depressed – Andrew Solomon – “When everyone else is experiencing depression and anxiety, real, clinical mental illness can get erased… unequal treatment of… physical over mental — is consonant with our society’s ongoing disregard for psychological stability…”
- Why are Blacks dying at higher rates from COVID-19? – Rashawn Ray – “structural conditions that inform pre-existing conditions and health disparities are the main culprit for the epidemic within the pandemic which is ravaging Black communities across the U.S.”
Self-Care/Inspiration
- 5 Ways to Rewire Your Brain to Deal With Coronavirus Stress – Melanie Greenberg – “Notice when you are getting triggered… stop what you are doing, take a break, and focus on… your senses… Reach out to a friend or family member…”
- 10 Healthy Activities to Take Your Mind Off Coronavirus – – “these are incredibly stressful and trying times, but this too shall pass… Catch up on your reading… with friends and family… Re-engage with your hobbies…”
- 30 Free Self-Care Tools – Own – “various meditations, apps, coloring pages, ebooks, videos, support groups, toolkits to manage anxiety, and online yoga and exercise classes…”
- Art Can Help Us Through Times of Loneliness –
- COVID-19 Frontline Keyworker Self Care Acts – pdf from Self Care Psychology – “Sing… Make and appreciate a hot drink… Meet a friend… Create a gratitude practice…”
- Exhausted – A COVID-19 Self-Checklist – Linda May Grobman/New Social Worker – “Think about what you might be grieving during this time… Anxiety and fear about the virus… Financial uncertainty…”
- The Honeymoon is Over – therapydoc – “the honeymoon is definitely over. The most patient among us is feeling either claustrophobic or crowded, out of sorts, at least once or twice a day. even more than we do working outside the home…”
- How to cope with social distancing and working from home – MWH – “Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of staying home during this period, look at the ways in which it can be a positive opportunity…”
- How to Use Grounding to Calm Yourself – Mindfulness Muse – “mental grounding… Describe your external environment in detail (e.g., “The walls are blue… physical grounding… Splash cool water on your face… emotional grounding… Picture people you care about and imagine them offering you love, compassion, and support…”
- Protect, Calm & Empower Your Family –
- The Marvelous Consequence of Your Kids’ Screen Overuse Under Quarantine –
- Self-Care for Social Workers During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Kristen Lee/NASW podcast “preventing and treating burnout”
- Self-Pity Will Drain You Of The Mental Strength You Need To Get Through The Coronavirus Pandemic – Amy Morin – “You have two choices: figure out how to make the best of the situation or let yourself sink into self-pity… Exchange self-pity for gratitude…”
- Why am I so tired? Clinicians Guide to Online Therapy – Patricia Berendsen/4 minute video… focus fatigue-attending to a small screen vs. a more open space… freedom freeze… forced field…”
- Why Getting “In-Sync” With Others Is Critical During the Pandemic – Bessel van der Kolk/NICABM – “our natural sense of safety comes from being in tune with other people… sing together… get into rhythmical harmony with other people…”
Social Work, Technology & Education
- Case Managers: The Other Frontline of COVID-19 – SWH – “Case Managers, most of them registered nurses and social workers, coordinate with physicians, nurses, mental health and insurance companies, and family and friends of the patient, their client… loss of work-life balance… especially true when your job was already taking over your life…”
- Coronavirus, Online Learning, Social Isolation, and Cyberbullying – Sameer Hinduja – “keep in touch with all of your students somehow… Remind them that you are there for them if they need anything… our students are going to struggle with feelings of isolation…”
- COVID-19 Related State Actions – many states have taken action to remove policy barriers to telehealth utilization to address this pandemic. This contains a list of state actions taken at this time.
- COVID-19 Resources for Helping Professionals and Clients – Own/PsychCentral – Helpful Readings/Videos/Podcasts… Free Self-Care Tools… Food, Internet Service and Emergency Relief Sources… How to Talk about the Pandemic with Kids…”
- Digital Transformation for Student Engagement and Community Building – Josie Ahlquist – “we can not replicate what was once in one format… I repeat: we must create, not replicate. We must transform… replay of “Language Matters” webinar…”
- Ethical Exceptions for Social Workers in Light of COVID-19 – Allan Barsky/New Social Worker – “we are facing a myriad of challenges… Ideally… identify solutions that meet client needs and also comply with… obligations…”
- Evolving General Futures/Foresight Resources on Covid-19 – Laura Burney Nissen – “Futures thinking during the Covid-19 chapter… Scenarios for the future – what happens next… Impact of pandemics on history…”
- How Will #COVID19 Transform Digital Transformation? – Stuck On Social Work – “when technology scales “to make lives better”, who decides who gets access to it?… And why did it take a pandemic to get us here?…”
- A Love Letter to Social Workers on the Front Lines of COVID-19 – Melanie Sage – “Social workers try to show up with humility while giving their best help to people who are the most vulnerable… We are holding space for a lot of people right now… And yet, social workers are often last in line for PPEs, for extra resources, for accolades…”
- Social Work in a Time of Crisis – Ermintrude – “We need to work together for those who need us and rely on us… We need to work together for our families and our own mental health and wellbeing. And we can do this…”
- Tech-based Assignments for Remote Teaching & Learning in Social Work – Laurel Hitchcock – “list of technology-based assignments that you can use and adapt for your own needs during these strange times…”
- 5 Tips School Social Workers And Students Can Use Now – socialworkpad – “how you can incorporate technology/ distance learning into your practice…”
Upcoming Free COVID-19 Related Webinars
- Bystander Intervention Trainings for Anti-Asian & Xenophobic Harassment – Hollaback! & AAJC Multiple dates in April/May – 1hr/CE – Hollaback!’s 5D’s of bystander intervention methodology… five strategies… distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct… prioritize… own safety…”
- Conversations with Clinicians about Covid – William Alanson White Institute/April 20 at 7:30PM EST – “=forum with a panel of our graduates who will discuss their clinical experiences with patients during the Covid epidemic…”
- Covid-19, Decarceration, and Abolition – April 16 at 5:00 PM EST – “How can we achieve urgently needed decarceration for the millions of people caged in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers?”
- COVID-19, Racial Discrimination, and Supporting Asian Communities – April 17 at 2PM EST by the University of Chicago SSA – “ways in which we can respond to racism and bigotry of varying forms, and mitigate their negative impacts…”
- COVID-19 Resources for Social Workers and Therapists – SocialWork.Career – “several free on demand trainings… resources to assist with hospice and palliative care, protecting immigrant families… social work and higher education specific resources…”
- Dramatic Changes to NY Medicaid Rules – How to Guide Clients and Their Families on April 28 at 1PM EST by NASW NYC (1.5 hrs, no CEs offered).
- Elementary SSW During A Pandemic – SSWNetwork on April 16 at 4PM EST… panel of SSW from around the country… who all work in elementary schools and who are trying to figure out how to “do” SSW during this COVID-19…”
- Emergency Remote Teaching & Learning: Survive, Thrive, & Plan for What Comes Next – April 22 beg at 10AM EST – to register, first join learning revolution.
- Keeping Nursing Home Residents and Staff Safe in the Era of COVID-19 – NASEM/April 22 at 1PM EST – “Nursing home residents make up less than one-half of one percent of the U.S. population, but represent approximately 15 percent of COVID-19 related deaths to date according to one recent estimate…”
- Kids and Quarantine: Managing Family Life – USC Dornsife College/April 16 at 4pm ET – “solutions and strategies that parents, clinicians, and communities can use to boost family mental health…”
- Leading & Managing During COVID-19 – CUSSW on April 22 at 1PM EST… 1.5hrs/1.5 CEs… Determining and implementing best practices for managing remote teams… Assessing the immediate and short-term financial implications of COVID-19’s impact…”
- Lessons on Pandemic and Age – Hunter College on April 20 at 3PM EST (no CEs)… How do disasters affect different people? What have we learned from the past and what do we need to know about the challenges of COVID-19 for seniors?…”
- Providing Mental Health Help for Parents During the Coronavirus– Global Child-EMDR Alliance… on Saturday, April 18 at 12PM EST… “
- Race, Xenophobia, and COVID-19 – Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center/April 17 at 1PM EST (no CEs)- “how COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities, fueled xenophobia, and harmed marginalized groups.”
- Reclaiming Identity and Independence During COVID-19: How Women Can Embrace Their New “Homemaker” Roles and Still Maintain Their Ambitions” – Dr. Laura Venuto/April 23 at 8PM EST (no CEs) – “traditional household relationship dynamics have been exacerbated… how individuals… cope… find ways of regaining control and some semblance of predictability in the face of uncertainty…”
- Shifting Your Story: Deal W/Disruption & Cope in COVID World – Doug Foresta/Learn It live – April 15 at 12PM EST – “the power of narrative and story to cope during these turbulent times… how to overcome fear and negative thoughts and connect to your creative self…”
- Working With Artists to Deepen Impact – PolicyLInk – April 30 at 2PM EST – “lessons for community development corporations… health services providers… on leveraging small-scale arts and culture work into larger, more ambitious projects, and addressing challenges…”
- Working with children and families during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – MHPN/April 30 at 5:15AM EST – “challenges and treatment opportunities for children and families during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak”
Private Practice
- Abundance Practice Building COVID-19 resources – resources, support and information.
- COVID-19 Reimbursement for Telephone Telehealth? – TBHI – “For a regularly updated and detailed list of state-based news for telehealth in particular… visit the website for the Center for Connected Health Policy… reimbursement rates will be the same as your usual in-office rate but you must use POS “11.” …”
- Emergency Financial Relief for Therapists in Private Practice – ZynnyMe w/Mary Beth Storjohann – replay of training.
- Financial Tips For Surviving The COVID-19 Crisis – Practice of Therapy w/Julie Herres – “how to budget for a crisis, creative ways to pay for expenses… applying for loans, and diversifying your income streams…”
- Getting your economic impact payment – H/T newsletter from CASH Campaign of Maryland –
“Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 and chose direct deposit of their refund will automatically receive an Economic Impact Payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples and $500 for each qualifying child. If you do not have direct deposit set up or need to update, click Get My Payment.
Don’t have a bank account? Find a safe, affordable option that meets national BankOn Standards (click here).
Direct deposit is the fastest way to receive payment! Paper checks could take up to 4 months.
If you did NOT file a tax return AND Do not receive Social Security benefits, click here and fill out the requested information.”
- QA Prep COVID-19 Resources for Mental Health Therapists -Documentation Considerations for Emergencies… Documentation and Telehealth Services… Telehealth Coverage by Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Insurance…”
- Private practice in the time of Covid 19: Part 1 and Part 2: Taking an Honest Inventory – – “Anticipate More Disruption… virus is going to affect people and their practices in many different ways… What do you love about your work… What challenges and problems regarding your practice are you currently facing?…”
- Unfinished Business at The End of Life– Practice of the Practice w/Patrick Willis – “What are some steps you can take today to make sure that your loved ones and business is prepared should anything unexpected happen to you?…”
- Why Therapists Don’t Return Calls To Potential Clients– Catherine Wilson/ Private Practice from the Inside Out – “every potential client should be called back… Remember what it feels like to be the client not getting a call returned from a potential therapist and then feeling awful because you needed to get help quickly…”
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