Christine Forte

Over the last few weeks in doing consultation with other therapists about dealing with the current crisis, I’ve found that many are experiencing feelings of guilt about not doing enough to help those in need during this time.

In addition to being a nation under quarantine, we are also in many ways, a nation in mourning. We are grieving a myriad of losses. Some may be grieving in the most traditional sense, of having lost a loved one. Others may be experiencing losses related to quality of life: the loss of health, a job, status, of freedom, of access to friends and family, access to healthcare for issues unrelated to COVID-19, loss of access to childcare.

For most of us, the way we work has changed dramatically since our cities and states began to be impacted by COVID-19. Overnight we have gone from seeing clients at agencies, offices, schools and clinics to seeing them online out of our homes.

It seems that all too often in trainings and workshops, therapist self-care is mentioned towards the end, almost as an afterthought or addendum. For this reason, I thought it important to address this topic early on in this series of articles. During this exceptional time, self-care can no longer be an afterthought.

In my previous post, I outlined several cognitive strategies for helping clients manage anxiety. But as I mentioned at the end of that post, it is important to keep in mind that there are times when cognitive strategies don’t quite reach through to the level of emotion someone is experiencing.