Self-Care and Mental Health During COVID-19
For those who are providing support to others during challenging times, including health care workers, it is important to practice self-care. Here are some resources to help you do this:
How Leaders Can Support Team Resilience in a Pandemic
AGPA President Molyn Leszcz, MD, FRCPC, CGP, DFAGPA draws upon his experience during the SARS epidemic and discusses ways mental health professionals can support themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog Posts By Community Outreach Co-Chair Dr. Suzanne Phillips:
The Corona Virus: Coping with Fear and Uncertainty
By Suzanne Phillips, PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA
Facing unknowns is very difficult. In the face of an epidemic, we are uncertain how to respond. Threatened by contagion, terrified by unknown risks, we move into survival mode.
The Corona Virus: Social-Distancing as Reducing Contagion Now
By Suzanne Phillips, PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA
Given the Corona Virus Pandemic, people across the globe are suffering, worrying, waiting, being tested, being quarantined, self-isolating, living with or preparing for lockdown.
The Role of Hope As We Fight Corona Virus Together
By Suzanne Phillips, PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA
Hope is broadly defined as an emotional state that promotes the belief in a positive outcome. Clearly we need hope, but even as we embrace it we often wonder – Does hope really make a difference?
Asynchronous Support Space
An unmoderated slack space has been created where clinicians can gather for community support, find connection, or offer reflections on their own need to be in self-isolation. Think of this as an asynchronous "chat room" (90s throwback). This space will be open for the duration of the pandemic.
This is a space created by the AGPA iSIG and is not moderated. All AGPA related business and inquiries should be addressed on the AGPA Member Listserv or to appropriate AGPA contacts.
Webinars on Self-Care and Care for Colleagues:
Care and Self-Care in the Age of COVID19: Challenges and Coping Strategies
Craig Haen, PhD, LCAT, CGP, FAGPA & Suzanne Phillips, PsyD, ABPP, CGP, FAGPA
Promoting Our Colleagues' Wellbeing: Group Work With Healthcare Providers
Molyn Leszcz, MD, CGP, DFAGPA
COVID-19 Support and Stress Reduction for Medical and Mental Health Professionals
In this show, host Dr. Suzanne Phillips interviews AGPA colleagues, Drs. Molyn Leszcz and Craig Haen, to support resilience and foster stress reduction in medical and mental health professionals facing the Corona Pandemic. The world watches with gratitude as medical health professionals work tirelessly to care for COVID-19 patients despite supply shortages, fatigue, and fear of infection. New and existing patients turn to Mental Health Professionals to help contain fear, loss, and dysregulation in the face of an invisible and lethal threat. Drawing upon years of hospital experience and research in the aftermath of the SARS Epidemic, Dr. Molyn Leszcz discusses the principles, connections, coping strategies, physical and psychological safety that fuel resilience in Medical Professionals. Dr. Craig Haen considers both the strain and strategies for sustaining resilience in mental health professionals available to the emotional needs of patients.
Battle Buddies: Rapid Deployment of a Psychological Resilience Intervention for Health Care Workers During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic
An overview of the potential psychological stress responses to the COVID-19 crisis in healthcare workers and the description of a deployable Psychological Resilience Intervention founded on a peer support model (Battle Buddies) developed by the United States Army. Read the article here.
The Ill Therapist: Therapists’ Reactions to Personal Illness and Its Impact on Psychotherapy
An article by Eleanor Counselman, EdD, ABPP, CGP, DLFAGPA and Anne Alonso, PhD, originally published in 1993 in the American Journal of Psychotherapy. Read the article here.
Bored in Self-Isolation? Looking for Structure?
Sophia Aguirre, PhD, CGP has created a ‘Shelter in Place Daily Routine’ for those struggling to fill their times in an absence of routine and structure. Download Dr. Aguirre's daily routine here.
Tips for Managing Stress and Anxiety Related to COVID-19 – Sophia Aguirre, PhD, CGP
Feeling Tired?
Read articles by AGPA members Hannah Smith, MA, LMHC, CGP and Clare Gerada, MBE, FRCGP, FRCPsych on Pandemic/COVID-19 fatigue to learn how it can affect you with advice on how to manage it.
- https://www.aplaceofhope.com/pandemic-fatigue/
- https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/05/04/covid-fatigue-is-taking-an-enormous-toll-on-healthcare-workers/
Survivor Corps
Survivor Corps is a grassroots movement dedicated to ending the pandemic by connecting and mobilizing COVID-19 survivors with the medical, scientific and academic research community. Learn more about their mission and how you can get involved here.
Tips For Anxiety
Hannah Smith, MA, LMHC, CGP has more videos for managing anxiety on her YouTube channel here.