Native American groups address mental health amid COVID-19

Funding from a professional coaching, therapy, and counseling academy has helped a certified life coach and non-clinical psychotherapist offer free sessions to people in Nigeria who are struggling to cope with setbacks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, which utilizes video calls and WhatsApp messaging, has broadened access for those who may not be able to seek help due to financial constraints.

The Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis is utilizing telehealth practices to treat both the medical and spiritual needs of the community and its patients. Although the "spiritual-meets-traditional care program" was already in place and had received funding before the coronavirus pandemic, it is now being implemented as a telehealth system with patients reporting that it has helped to create a sense of connection despite the adherence to physical distancing.

The Montrose Center in Texas, which provides LGBTQ support services, has turned to the use of technology to keep resources available during the coronavirus pandemic. Virtual support groups have been one of their most successful innovations, with providers reporting that attendance at times has been higher than for in-person sessions.

About 3,200 mostly older South Koreans living alone are monitored by voice-enabled smart speakers to check on their welfare during the coronavirus shutdown. Use of web search terms indicating distress, or when the devices aren’t used for more than 24 hours, can trigger a call or visit from social workers in an effort to prevent the elderly from dying alone. The innovation is among the tools South Korean health authorities used, including sophisticated tracking apps for contact tracing, to help the country keep the pandemic in check. But they also have raised a number of privacy concerns.

An Alberta Health Services’ text messaging service called Text4Hope is giving people text messages to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The texts, written by mental health therapists, use cognitive behavioral therapy, helping people disrupt the constant stream of negative thoughts that happen during traumatic times. So far, over 30,000 people have signed up.

Many psychologists and counselors have moved their therapy sessions online due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been received largely positively across the nation. As the pandemic continues, however, there is an increasing need for therapists who are trained to work with other therapists or first responders, so some states are now increasing online educational training, using social media to make connections, and utilizing professional organizations to "keep records of therapists available and trained to work with other first responders."

Immunocompromized individuals are under stricter guidelines to not leave their homes during the coronavirus because they are more susceptible to contracting the virus, but that can leave many feeling isolated. To manage that isolation for cancer patients, the nonprofit Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach is using online technology to connect community members through support groups.

Social connection is crucial to recovery for people participating in Alcoholics Anonymous, but the quarantine mandated by the coronavirus has made that impossible. Support groups across the state of Washington are grappling with isolation and, in response, have started meeting over Zoom instead. This article talks to several participants to get their take on it. One person in particular said that meeting online has allowed them to attend more meetings, and it has been a source of comfort during quarantine.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused many in the healthcare industry to rethink how they conduct business, which in some instances has opened the door to telehealth practices. In Louisiana, "emergency public policy changes designed to loosen the regulatory grip on remote counseling," has allowed counseling centers to offer teletherapy to clients but counselors are still navigating how best to attract a clientele and use the technology.

As meetings and social gatherings of all kinds have been postponed or canceled altogether, the support group Alcoholics Anonymous faced a particular challenge given the imperative and power of their in-person meetings. Fortunately, many chapters have moved their meetings online, to video conference services like Skype or Zoom.