A Recommendation for Mental Health Professionals Regarding the Impact of the Coronavirus
If you are a mental health professional, you are going to be very important to a lot of folks as the restrictions of the Coronavirus get extended. The City of Dallas has extended the emergency declaration to end of April. On the West Coast the San Francisco Bay Are (7.5 million people) are under orders to not leave their homes. The impact on mental health is and will be significant. But what can you do with social distancing and the need to see people and for them to see you?
Several mental health professionals that we work with are taking their practice online.
The challenge is whether it is HIPPA Compliant. While there is some indication that some of those HIPPA requirements are being waived, it is still important to many of your clients to know that their meetings are HIPPA Compliant.
I don’t get paid by Zoom but I am a fan. Zoom Video Conferencing has a HIPPA Compliant version. This will provide the critical service that you can give to your clients. Cabin Fever will create marital distress. 24/7 with a spouse will probably expose aspects of a marriage that get glossed over during ordinary times or there will likely be an emotional toil that comes from the uncertainty.
Below is an excellent Zoom how to video. You can send this to your clients to help them to get comfortable with how the technology works.
Someday this will all end. In the meantime however, I pass on this suggestion to my friends who are mental health professionals to enable you to do that thing that you do or so well!
