AMA: Psychologist working in data - concerned with COVID’s impact on whole person care

Thanks for starting us off @cruelle. Picking a therapist is quite personal and can be a challenge. If you want to use your insurance, first contact them (phone/web/app), find out who's in network. You can often search by skills (like CBT/DBT). But then call the provider and talk to them. Many will check boxes of skills that they've read an article on. For something like DBT, you need deep training to do it right. Also, try the person out. Relationship and trust is paramount, so if it's not a good fit, you can go to someone else. But give that therapist feedback and a chance. An initial not good fit may actually be perfect. For instance, with DBT, challenging your normal approaches could be quite helpful!

And make sure to ask providers about in person right now. It’s obviously far more limited currently. But don’t rule out teletherapy with COVID. It’s been found to be more effective than people may fear. You can still build good relationships via video.

Great awareness, @PlzReferMe. That's the first step, is being aware of your challenges and limitations. It's hard joining a new job and team, especially when you don't feel support. From a work perspective, if you have a good supervisor and know what you need, providing them feedback about what kind of help/support you need will help both of you. They may just not be aware of how to support you. Hopelessness is always a challenge. What gives you meaning/purpose/hope in general? Try to find some pieces of that to focus on. It may very well be outside of work. And that can be good! Little things during the day can be powerful to keep motivation. A sunrise, a song, a flower, a breeze, a call with a friend, a puppy rub, cuddling a soft blanket or stuffed animal, prayer/meditation, helping someone, etc. are common ways people find motivation.

Really important consideration, @EATLyl! From a general perspective, I like to talk about wellness and building up of heath, not just reduction of symptoms/problems. So what can strengthen a team? Purpose/meaning helps. But not imposed. Ask them what drives them, what keeps them going. In grad school, one of my professors would regularly take the first hour of a class session to help us remember why we’re doing what we’re doing. A doctoral program can be quite exhausting, as can many of our jobs, especially right now. Taking that same approach and having people remember why they’re doing what they do can be a powerful way to improve health, wellness, job satisfaction, and a sense that you care. At an individual level, monitoring how people appear to be doing and asking how they can be helped more, as in what do they need to feel satisfied, successful, etc. can be helpful. Talking about behavioral health and de-stigmatizing it, normalizing it, is critical. Reminding people of resources, like EAP, and even sharing about people’s own BH experiences can be hugely helpful to know that it’s okay to seek help.

Here’s a great video from my colleague about her first hand experience, and what her management did right to support her. https://youtu.be/edgKq8TyljY

Social support is absolutely critical, so yes, isolation definitely can be a big component. However, the unknown is also a major impact on behavioral health and hope. Hopelessness, which can be driven by treatment options, or the lack there of, as well as not knowing what will be happening to our jobs, society, etc., makes another big impact. I am frankly grateful that it happened in 2020, when we have a lot more technology to help us stay connected and build social support, retain at least some jobs, etc.

first off, being aware of what’s happening to us, and our reactions makes a huge difference. Mindfulness can be useful in this regard to help us continue to move forward. Staying connected to what drives us, our priorities, etc. can also be hugely beneficial. Keeping routines, including eating well, getting dressed, taking showers, etc. will help recovery and resilience.

Thank you for sharing your honest experience! This is a really good example of the challenges of health insurance tied to employment, especially when we work environment is toxic. If you qualify for Medicaid, that could be an option. Public services, like the county mental health system in California, will often provide services at low or no cost because they are the safety net. Look also for various nonprofits in your area. They may be able to provide services on what is called a sliding scale, which charges you based on your income. Don’t underestimate the benefit of telehealth right now, as well. That lowers overhead, and so you may be able to get better deals. The cautious of the quality of major telehealth industries. Just do your research to ensure you’re providing good care.

I am not familiar with that platform and honestly not terribly familiar with any of the regular platforms. While the business model of the platforms can influence good or bad care, the core is who the provider is you’re getting help from. It may be worth trying one, especially if there is a trial, to see what your first-hand experience is. It can vary hugely from person to person, and your direct experience is the most important.

Nice question! I see a multitude of ways of using data to get people help. Personally, I’m passionate about using data as an advocacy tool to improve policies, systems, benefits packages, services, etc. That should influence better care and improved access to care, this getting more people help. One of the areas I work at, especially with whole person care, is risk stratification. Often this is to help empower upstream interventions, including proactive outreach and engagement. That is another way to get people help appropriately. Of course additional advanced analytics, including predictive models, can influence the types of services available and further tailor care to the actual needs. In this regard, I hope to see more person-centered, strengths based care fundamental to whole person care. That type of help will improve the amount of people who can get help and even want help.

Not to get all promotional (I work with The Doctor) but if you want to learn more about this topic, you can check this out: https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/solutionbrief/analytics-improve-community-health-109792.pdf

Appreciate your honesty, @yIVsT!. I can associate with this reaction quite well. Especially patience, both for finding a partner and now even with kids. The more I ask for patience, the harder it gets in many ways!! :) It sounds like both hope and patience are tied together for you. You're hoping for something to happen in the future, but you need to be patient for it to happen. Mindfulness and meditation are both often quite helpful for both hope and patience. Though there's no panacea for either. I would encourage you to consider what's driving the potential urgency that may challenge hope/patience. See if you can challenge that urgency in any way while recognizing that especially with partner relationships, what you're experiencing is quite normal. One of the things I found helpful was trying to let go of being in control. That's super hard for many of us (definitely me). The harder you try to find a romantic relationship, for instance, the harder it will be to actually find in a perverse paradox. Tied to mindfulness, some of my training is in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). I love Marsha Linehan's (the founder) concept and application of acceptance: Acknowledging reality rather than fighting it. That may be an excellent first place for you to start working on hope and patience. If we can accept our situation, we may have more patience for it to change. Now to be clear, acceptance does NOT mean agreement or not wanting things to be difference. It's more acknowledgement. When we accept, then we're actually in a better place to change things!

Yes makes sense. I think I have subconsciously started accepting the current situation iam in to feel better. Good to know iam in the right path! Thank you for doing this!

Thank you for sharing, @DuffDuff. First step is doing exactly what you did: Recognize the anxiousness. Also helping yourself normalize it, especially right now. Anxiety about the future is probably true for all of us. It makes complete sense. Heck, anxiety about the future is pretty normal for many of us year-round. Just because it's normal doesn't mean it's not problematic. Paying attention to your body is one excellent way in the moment of coping with anxiety effectively. Deep breathing triggers the autonomic nervous system, creating calming. Exercise or physical activity is one of the BEST ways to deal with anxiety (and depression... and most BH conditions). For anxiety, think of what it does: It sets us up to fight or flee. Energy needs to build up in our system. But most of us just sit all day (especially in the tech fields and now in COVID times). Where does that energy go? Nowhere... Exercise lets it get out in a health way, allowing relaxation. Longer-term, start asking yourself what you're anxious about. What's the worst that could actually happen? If that line of questioning helps, great. If not, don't do it. :) These are introductory cognitive behavioral therapy approaches. Seeking help from a therapist could be quite useful as well. Also considering what you're anxious about, many of us anxious about the future are triggered because of our lack of control over the circumstances (again, especially right now). What can you control currently? Focus on that. Maybe even next steps to secure your future more, despite uncertainties.