therapy talk
AAMFT Clinical Fellow Tonya Girard is treating some people who have never sought therapy services before. “People who were coping well in their lives, just day to day and didn’t really need anybody to talk to, are now finding it difficult to be isolated, sometimes isolated with their families … They’re reaching out and needing that extra support.” She is working with those who are family members and friends of people who have died from COVID-19, as well as with healthcare workers and with people across the community who are being impacted by the pandemic. While some people are having trouble coping now, Girard said it wouldn’t be surprising if a certain portion of the population didn’t start showing signs of traumatic stress until months after the pandemic ends. She compared this to the traumatic stress experienced by those who go to war. “Once the storm dies down and the stimulation dies down a little bit, that’s when it’s safer for you to start having those complicated thoughts and feelings. They can flood people.”
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