By: Logan Cohen, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist & AAMFT Approved Supervisor I New Leaf Counseling Group, LLC I Charlotte, NC
As a community in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the general American Public, we are in a fight against the Coronavirus Pandemic. At the "front lines" of this fight are our healthcare professionals - the brave nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers who are putting their own personal health at risk to take care of us - and are now facing their own mental health issues in addition to dire conditions.
I was in an an appointment with a couple who I had just begun seeing before the Coronavirus Pandemic took hold in the United States. One of the Individuals in the Couple happens to be a nurse in one of Charlotte's local Intensive Care Units and in the last few weeks, she has been clear with me that the stories from New York City are NOT some "hoax."
She is involved in the direct care of COVID19 patients and when she spoke with me about it, I could visually watch her become more anxious until her eyes began to scan the room in hyper-vigilance. As a seasoned therapist who has done my fair-share of trauma recovery work in clinical settings, I knew my new client was showing new signs of trauma. This is just the beginning, and New Leaf Counseling Group is looking forward to being a part of the solution for our community's "front line" in Charlotte, NC.
The newest addition to our clinical team is a trained Medical Family Therapist by the name of Melissa Fox. In a spirit of "servant leadership", Melissa Fox is making all of her clinical services available at HALF OFF to healthcare workers directly effected by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Experiences like this, where healthcare professionals who have sworn their Life's Purpose to healing our community's sick, are beginning to unfold all over the country where community's are in a fight for their Life against the Coronavirus Pandemic. Healthcare professionals are feeling out of control, while at the same time their patients die in mass numbers - that was NOT a part of their training.
This creates mental health issues based on trauma to Identity, as well as with grief and loss for many of our essential healthcare workers. Research gathered from the Wuhan Province in China found that a CONSIDERABLE proportion of healthcare professionals reported symptoms of depression(50.4%), anxiety (44.6%), insomnia (34.0%), and distress (71.5%).
Between frustration from lack of protective gear, fear about spreading the Coronavirus to their Loved Ones, loss of personal control, and of course watching their patients die alone - separated from their Loved Ones as a result of quarantine protocols - is enough to make an otherwise healthy and stable Human Being develop mental health issues.
Melissa Fox has completed training specifically in Medical Family Therapy, as well as in Trauma Recovery - and she has decided that she cannot "sit on the sidelines" with her own personal sense of duty to the community's health & wellness. Throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic and until all of our Charlotte area healthcare workers have received the care they need, Melissa Fox will offer 50% OFF for counseling and therapy to healthcare workers who have been impacted with the Coronavirus Pandemic.
With her training in a Medical Family Therapy model, combined with the Trauma Informed Approach, Melissa is an ideal choice for addressing the mental health issues that we are beginning to see from our healthcare professionals on the front lines through the Coronavirus Pandemic. She looks forward to being a part of the healing solution for healthcare professionals in Charlotte, NC who are directly impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
If you are a healthcare professional directly impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic, or know someone who is, consider contacting Melissa Fox by phone at 959-200-8925 or email at Melissa@NewLeafCLT.com. Melissa is offering 1/2 ALL of her services to healthcare professionals who are directly impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic until all our "front lines" in Charlotte, NC have the mental health care they need. If you would prefer to book an appointment online, please click here to do so. We are ready and waiting with room for you to GROW.