“It’s OK if You’re not OK Right Now” (ask for help)
“It’s OK if You’re not OK Right Now” (ask for help)
Written by Madeline Vann, NCC, M.Ed. at White Cloud Therapeutic Services
You’re probably tired of hearing this, but these are unprecedented times. Historic, even. And no one knows how this is going to end, exactly, or when. So let me reassure you, if no one else has- it’s ok if you are not ok right now.
Which, honestly, makes this the perfect time to reach out to a counselor. Every type of counseling you can think of is available, just via Telehealth.
So it’s more like FaceTiming a family friend who has professional skills to address your concerns, and less like sitting on a couch in someone’s office. It’s still private. It’s still confidential. It’s still covered by most insurance or available on a sliding scale. It’s still healing.
Right now, families are trying to figure out how to manage homeschooling and literally everything else. Some parents are working from home and also trying to supervise the kids, while worrying about older relatives and friends. Other parents have had to patch care and supervision together.
Many families are doing without a lot of things they used to have, and trying to figure out the way forward. And, in case you haven’t asked them yet, the kids will tell you they miss a lot of stuff too – they miss their friends, recess, lunches, libraries, sports, and being recognized by teachers and staff for just being their amazing selves.
Here’s how a counselor can help. Family counseling now can help you establish the routines, rules, rituals and expectations that will get you all through this. You’ll have help grieving over what you’ve lost and what’s changed, and finding a future focus for everyone.
You’ll learn ways to be more connected and adapt to the unpredictable situation we are all in. If anger, frustration, irritability, and conflict are occupying your household more than you would like, a counselor can help you manage them better. Whatever concerns are coming up for you, whether they are around how you all talk to one another or how to manage all the demands on you or how to comfort one another in this situation, a counselor can help.
Many counselors can use Telehealth sessions to increase play and enjoyment of each other, even when you’re all staring at a counselor on a screen.
Some counselors are offering online groups to help people connect with others and continue to find support for their shared concerns.
Perhaps most importantly, right now, a counselor can help any individual, couple, or family cope with the anxiety and fear related to COVID and the way things are changing. And I’ll just put a a bug in your ear about the fact that substance abuse and addictions counselors can help you protect your recovery or simply discuss whether you are using more substances now to cope than you would like.
Call 757-276-7069 or email me or any of the counselors at White Cloud Therapeutic Services, LLC, if you’d like to find out more about how counseling can help you now.
Article was written and sponsored by Resident in Counseling Madeline Vann, NCC, M.Ed. at White Cloud Therapeutic Services
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