COUNSELING IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

COVID-19 Mental Health Response

This is Gordon and his family’s 8th year in East Asia.  He heads the mental health service of a large hospital.  Like everybody else, he and his wife have to work online from home, help their young children with classes and homework online, run the house, and find creative solutions for the inconveniences of a lockdown. 

In the midst of all this, calls for help pour in from churches and the community. Gordon responded by training a team of volunteers to staff a hotline.  He also personally offers free online counseling for those grappling with sickness and deaths of family and friends, anxiety, depression from quarantine, and suicide.  He has also been reaching out to the community with videos and articles to address the mental health challenges that people face during the spread of the disease and the lockdowns.

“There is a silver lining to all this,” Gordon said. “I counsel people to think about what are life’s essentials and non-essentials in times like this.  They need to determine their priorities and develop a plan to manage life as it is.  And when this crisis is over, they will be able to live life with more clarity of purpose and priorities--all very important for mental health.”