Anxiety-Reducing Survival Tips for Mental Health Providers by Shalyn Dussiaume

Anxiety-Reducing Survival Tips for Mental Health Providers

by Shalyn Dussiaume, M.A., RP

When it comes to the anxiety generated by COVID-19, clients seek out counselling for guidance and symptom reduction. However, mental health providers are impacted by this pandemic just like everyone else. We too experience fear, anxiety, and worry about our safety and how this pandemic will impact our lives for the foreseeable future. Whether concerned about a decline in financial security or fearing for our own physical health, mental health providers are human too. Physiological changes accompany our anxiety. It is important to practice what we preach for our own health and well-being, along with that of our clients. Here are five simple but effective strategies that I can recommend to mental health providers (as well our clients) to help us navigate COVID-19:

Focus on the silver linings

We may suddenly have time freed up to spend with our families, get to work on a project we have been thinking about for the past year but couldn’t follow through on because of obligations, catch up (via Zoom) with old friends, become a better cook, or learn a new language. And perhaps a gift is simply to take time to breathe. Prior to the pandemic we may have found ourselves preoccupied with the chaos of day-to-day life. With busy lives and responsibilities, it gets harder and harder to stop and smell the flowers - literally.

Coping mechanisms

As with general anxiety, it is important to have a set of tools to use when the anxiety cloud starts to peek its way through the trees. Time and time again we say, exercise is key to mental and physical health. This may seem cliché, but it is the truth. Exercise can release stressrelieving endorphins, as well as dopamine (“happy hormones”) and the sleep hormone serotonin. A walk outside in nature is one of the most calming, free, and easy forms of exercise almost anyone can do. And thanks to COVID, there is more time to dedicate to the things that keep us healthy — another silver lining.

Stay Safe

Take precautions whenever and wherever necessary. As mental health providers we are obligated to do no harm. Therefore, if we have resumed in-person sessions, it is important to adapt our practice accordingly. We can wear masks and gloves, and offer them to our clients, have hand sanitizer readily available, and provide telephone or video options. This is a necessity, not an option, for those who have an identified vulnerability: people with medical conditions including heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, diabetes, or cancer, people with weakened immune systems from either medical condition or treatment such as chemotherapy, as well as older adults.

Knowing that we have reduced the risk of pandemic. However, not all news is reliable, so scientific source, take it with a grain of salt. And

transmission allows us to release our hypervigilance and focus on our client’s emotional well-being.

Self-care

Although lived experience can be valuable to practicing psychotherapy or counselling, providing treatment is not effective if we are distracted by a need to calm our own anxieties rather than our clients’. Selfcare looks different for everyone. A good tool to carry in our back pocket is a Care Card. This is a wallet-sized card to carry at all times, reminding us of the tools and techniques we like to use to reduce anxiety. This way, when anxiety arises, we are prepared. This, of course, also works well for our clients. When we are in a state of anxiety it can be difficult to remember our coping mechanisms, so having them writWhere are the latest updates coming from? In order to help inform our clients, we need to be up-to-date on developments concerning the consider the source. If it is not from a credible,

ten down and on hand is beneficial. be careful not to overload. Remember to take regular media breaks and engage in relaxation practices and pleasant activities, such as drawing, cooking, walking, or reading a book.

Navigating through hard times, such as a global pandemic, we are all well advised to practice self-care alongside our clients. I hope you will find these simple steps helpful. Stay safe.

About the Author

Shalyn Dussiaume is a Registered Psychotherapist and is currently working with a wide variety of clients with varying life issues. Her therapy models include using CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy). Some of her clinical expertise includes treating depression, anxiety, postpartum stress, relationship issues, anger management, addiction, trauma, borderline personality disorder, and more.

She has worked with children, teens, and adults, from various walks of life in Ontario, Canada; Nevada, USA; and Cornwall, England.

She earned a Bachelor Honours Degree in Women Studies and Psychology from Laurentian University and she completed her Master of Counselling Psychology Degree through Yorkville University. She is a Registered member in good standing with the CRPO (College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario) and the OAMHP (Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals).

In her spare time, outside of her private practice work, she enjoys taking long walks in nature and taking her one-yearold son on outings.