Independent Psychotherapy Network

For the last nine months we in the United States have been living with the numerous and far-reaching challenges of the corona virus pandemic. Some of these affect nearly everyone. The need to practice social distancing and to avoid unnecessary contact with others outside one’s home is one result. Associated with this is the inability to be together with family and friends. #covid19hope #covid19help #therapistsinlosangeles #covidtherapy

How to encourage your own hope in these challenging times? Measure it. Evaluate your starting point, or baseline, and identify where you need to improve. Read history. History, especially of bleak periods, provides context and substance. We can see how people survived the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Civil War, the London Blitz, or other challenging times. #covid19hope #covid19help #therapistsinlosangeles #covidtherapy

Maintaining hope during the recent COVID surge in California and around the country is helpful, even essential, in many ways. Hope reduces anxiety, despair, and of course depression. We have more effective coping skills and recover from disappointments more quickly when we have hope. #covid19therapy #losangelestherapy #therapists #covid19hope

Sacks explores a variety of unusual, and mostly very rare, ways in which music comes to dominate a person’s brain, and life. But he also describes how powerfully therapeutic music can be for patients with Parkinson’s Disease or Dementia. #covid19 #losangelestherapy #theripists #liftspirits

A community website, The Mighty, provides information and support for people involving health issues. Since the COVID 19 pandemic began in March, it has surveyed more than 70,000 individuals to identify their experiences with the crisis. #losangelestherapy #covid19help #coid192020 #therapistsinlosangeles

It is difficult to develop a balanced life even in the best of times. For some, it means that something is always being overlooked while other needs are being addressed. All of these endeavors require the ability to recognize and prioritize your goals, to build the routines that speak to your needs, boundaries you develop to preserve your habits and the ability to transition from one activity to another. #santamonicatherapists #covid19 #SusanHarperSlatePhD

A new study reveals greater risks for infection from cold and influenza viruses for people with psychosocial vulnerabilities, which can be applied to risks with COVID 19. #covid19 #therapyinla #losangelestherapists #AlanMSolomonPhD

Recent blogs have identified a variety of risks due to the COVID 19 pandemic: anxiety, depression, sleep issues, child abuse, and domestic violence. Coping techniques have been described for us adults, as well as for our children. Now, we can add one more health risk: broken heart syndrome. Click below to read entire article. #covid19cardiac #therapstslosangeles #covidhealthissues

In addition to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and substance abuse discussed in previous blogs, domestic violence is one more aspect of the COVID 19 pandemic that lurks in the shadows. #covid #domesticviolence #therapyinlosangeles https://therapyinla.com/covid-domestic-violence/

WILL INSURANCE COMPANIES CONTINUE to COVER TELEHEALTH SERVICES? Insurance companies are moving towards reducing the benefits for telehealth services. Practical steps to take: be sure to check your insurance coverage to see what telehealth benefits are being offered and what the timeframe for these benefits may be. #telehealth #insurancetelehealth #losangelestherapy

Recent blogs have focused on helping us, and our kids, cope with COVID 19. What can we do to help our immune systems function more effectively? Some of the following may be familiar already, but a quick review and re-focus may be of genuine help #covid19 #cornonavirusv #immunesystem #diet #stress #nutrition

Two-plus months into sheltering at home due to the COVID 19 crisis, and beginning to re-open our economy, we are in the midst of another kind of health crisis. This one has to do with psychological health and well-being. Compared to the medical crisis, it’s more of a phantom emergency that is hardly getting the attention it deserves. Our mental health services are woefully inadequate. #covid19therapy #psycologicalhealth #losangelestherapy #mentalhealth

IN the MIDDLE of the NIGHT I CONTEMPLATED LOSS. i was laying there. trying to shut off my brain. but it just wouldn’t. i had past that point. that magical moment when sleep is possible. i had almost fallen so many times to be jolted awake by a snore, a cat meow, an itch on my ankle. all things considered [global pandemic and the like], i’ve been sleeping relatively well, so i gave in. Click to read more by Lisa Solomon....

When we think of grief, we usually think of mourning the death of a loved one, family member, close friend, or perhaps charismatic and important leader (JFK, Martin Luther King, FDR, Nelson Mandela). #covid19grief #AlanMSolomonPhD #therapycovidissues, #therapiststorrance

GOOD OR BAD MORE THAN ONE FAMILY MEMBER SEEING THE SAME THERAPIST? First, let me be clear that I am not referring to family members involved in couple, parent-child, or family therapy sessions. In those situations, of course, the therapist sees members of the same family, usually at the same time. # Malcolm MillerPhD #WestLosAngeles #therapy #sametherapist #Torrancetherapists

The previous blog about coping with the COVID 19 pandemic was focused on us adults. How about helping our children? First, we need to consider how staying at home is impacting kids. As we know our own kids, are they responding as they usually do at times of higher stress? #kidsstress #covid19stress #stresschildren