Good afternoon,
With the state of Minnesota closing schools starting Wednesday, March 18th, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we want to ensure you that Art of Counseling therapists will continue to be available through in-person and telemental health services.
Because staying connected to the community is important for our mental health, we will be respecting the “social distancing” guidelines and continuing to offer emotional support and continuation of treatment goals.
Current basics as of 3/17/2020:
- Scheduled individual therapy sessions will continue. Please reach out to your individual therapist with concerns before your session:
- + If you are interested in telemental health for your scheduled appointment.
- + If you have any symptoms of illness (cold, flu or COVID-19, etc.)
- This week, our individual therapist and group facilitators will be reaching out to you over the phone or in person to survey the readiness of telemental health services.
- For those that are coming in for individual sessions, please do not bring unnecessary additional people to wait in the waiting, when at all possible. Our waiting room is small. Help us keep a safe space for people who need to or prefer to continue in person therapy
Ways to quell the anxiety around the coronavirus:
- First, you are not alone.
- Manage your media diet. Reduce social media and rely on trusted forms of communication, such as the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization
- Stick to a routine. For example, work or do school work during your regular hours if possible even if from home.
- Support each other. Volunteer in “social distancing” spaces to help those hardest hit by the outbreak.
Give Mindfulness a try. A great way to do that is to use meditation or other mindfulness exercises, which encourage you to notice what’s happening with your feelings in the moment in a nonjudgmental way
- Find other things to talk about!
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/how-to-stay-calm-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-anxiety-relief-tips.html
Ways to stay connected and activities that are “social distancing” friendly:
- Call to say hello to family and friends.
- Call or message those that maybe experiencing extreme isolation.
- Create a pandemic free private group on social media for friends and family that what to stay in contact.
- Send a card or letter via snail mail to let others know you are thinking about them.
- Play games with your children and reduce talk about the outbreak.
- Go for a walk, bike ride, do yard work, listen to music or the songs birds, connect with nature.
