May Edition 2020
Inside This Issue
Coping with Collective Trauma By John O’Neill, EdD, LCSW, LCDC, CAS, Clinical director of Menninger Outpatient Services
Covid-19 And Your Heart See pg. 12
INDEX Legal Matters ...................... pg.3 Mental Health...................... pg.4 Oncology Research......... pg.6 Healthy Heart....................... pg.9
Age Well Live Well Volunteering is Healthy See pg. 13
M
ental health professionals specialize in helping others cope with trauma, pain, anguish and the unknown. Seldom are mental health professionals engaged in the same emotional struggles as their clients. Although mental health professionals have experienced floods, hurricanes, terrorism and many other traumatic events, COVID-19 has both clients and therapists struggling to manage the emotional consequences of the unknown. Living with constant trauma, without a clear understanding of when it will end, creates an emotional burden on mental health professionals that requires an acute awareness of how they are feeling and what they can do to better cope. Collective trauma refers to the emotional and physical reactions shared by a group or society. This current crisis is perhaps the most extreme example of collective trauma. How is it possible to help others when you are experiencing many of the same emotional and physical reactions? Each day can be a similar
blur of trying to help people cope with anxiety, fear, sadness, anger and loss. Simply put, do your best. Appreciate that you are doing what you can to help others.
when you don’t have words to succinctly help a client cope with a crisis facing all of society. You are not alone in this battle. Remember that your time and attention help clients cope and heal as they navigate trauma. As you practice self-compassion, it is important to develop new ways of coping with the intensity of this crisis. To appreciate the emotional intensity of this shared trauma, spend time each day checking in with how you are feeling. 1. As the day starts and ends, ask how you are feeling, reflect on what you are thinking and plan your coping strategies. 2. Practice listening to your body and mind. Do not dismiss your emotions as insignificant or unwarranted. It is easy to keep moving forward without attention to the ground beneath. 3. Find a way to ground as you navigate this crisis as both a mental health professional and a person coping with trauma. Grounding is an anchor that helps you detach from emotional pain by focusing on something other than the difficult pain you face. You may decide to learn to play an instrument, take
This current crisis is perhaps the most extreme example of collective trauma. How is it possible to help others when you are experiencing many of the same emotional and physical reactions... Take Care of Yourself Like Never Before Through pain, mental health professionals must practice self-compassion like they never have before. Self-compassion researcher, Kristen Neff, PhD, at the University of Texas-Austin, reminds everyone that there is a common humanity, you are not alone and others feel the way you do. Mental health professionals can feel inadequate as they navigate the intensity of this crisis and they can feel alone doing it. It is a helpless feeling
see Collective Trauma... page 14
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