Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335892
to upfront, and you can connect via text chat or through a phone call. Others I took for a test drive include reaching out via video conference to a psychologist at BetterHelp, and touching base with therapists at AmWell, Doctor on Demand, and Wellnite. The way most of these work is that you sign up, answer a few assessment-type questions online, choose a session frequency and payment plan, and then begin one-on-one counseling with a therapist within a few hours or a few days. Several other teletherapy sites include Larkr, ReGain, AbleTo, and MDLive, and many are running specials right now due to increased COVID-19 stress and trauma-related demand including: Talkspace: Offering $120 off with code with HOLIDAY. They're also providing free messaging therapy for nurses, doctors, and social workers. According to the site, healthcare workers can register via the app (Google Play or App Store) or website by providing their NPI and state of residence for verification. Once verified, they will gain access to Talkspace's Unlimited Messaging Plus Plan. BetterHelp: The cost of counseling through BetterHelp ranges from $60 to $80 per week (billed every four weeks) and it is based on your location, preferences, and therapist availability. You can cancel your membership at any time for any reason. Counselors on BetterHelp are licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD/PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW/LMSW), or licensed professional counselors (LPC). All of them have a master's degree or a doctorate degree in their field. Wellnite: Offering $45 for your first month and you can get access to many different types of plans, including medication if needed. Wellnite doctors are Board-Certified physicians who regularly treat patients for depression and anxiety. They pair you with a doctor who is licensed in your state. AbleTo: Includes a free mental health toolkit and additional resources for families at https://info.ableto.com/ coronavirus. Their suite of virtual health services is led by a select group of licensed professionals who receive ongoing training in cognitive behavioral therapy and undergo rigorous quality control to ensure fidelity to protocols. Even the CDC is making sure people have mental health support right now and at least one subreddit—COVID-19 Support—is trending as a place for people to seek emotional support, too. Here are some of the top resources for crisis outreach in one place: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) helpline: 800-950-6264 Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs: 66745 Crisis Text 24/7 Support: Text HELLO to 741741 H EA LTH BY PAULETTE VICTOR LIFTON MPSE Mental Health D epression? The symptoms are insidious, no, not like the movie Insidious, more like a creeping crawling worm in Star Trek II. You seem fine, but something is just off. You once were able to see friends, family and co-workers, and even though we mostly work in a dark room alone, we still need social interaction. Hugs, handshakes, and just plain padding someone on the back is now gone. Thank God I have a small circle of people that I get to see on a weekly basis, started a voice school for actors last year and have about 200 new friends from my Zoom interactions. Some of us aren't so lucky. Sure, we're on lockdown during a pandemic. We are concerned for our family, aging friends, and family. Most of my editor friends are worried about work—or a lack thereof. Friends having FB fights about masks, I'm cutting my own hair upside down in my bathroom, and my kid won't have her "college" experience of dating the wrong guy or going to crazy parties. My friends are obsessed even more with social media, including TikTok and honestly, what if you're single? Or married and need some space??? There's more to just being forced into working from home than meets the eye. The new not-so-normal As this whole "shelter-in-place" order stretches into another binge, of course, practically the entire months of New Year, it seems we've reached a new level of anxiety, isolation, fear, stress, cabin fever, and frustration of having no clue when it might end. The online therapist will see you now Calls and emails from people seeking mental health support over the past week were up 65 percent for Talkspace, one of several teletherapy resources for people seeking help via encrypted video conference, phone, or text message. Demand is so high, the company has doubled-down on new ways to get people support quickly, including a free therapist-led Facebook support group and new Instagram Stories COVID-19 highlight. Both social media sites have Talkspace therapists answering questions daily in the hope that as many people as possible take advantage of these resources. There have been a number of recent emergency changes that allow both therapists and psychiatrists to provide care to patients online or from an app. For the first time ever, Medicare OK'd teletherapy, according to Ken Duckworth, the chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. In an interview with NBC, he explained that for many mental health conditions, "teletherapy has the same effectiveness as in-person therapy." When help is a click, tap, text, or phone call away I also connected with a licensed therapist through JustAnswer, where mental health inquiries are up 75 percent, according to a company spokesperson. Many of JustAnswer's therapists work on a sliding scale you agree