During the COVID-19 pandemic, you might find yourself living alone—or living too closely with loved ones. You might be out of a job and a paycheck—or have way too much work for one person to handle. 
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Washington
Regardless of the particulars of your situation, one thing is for sure: This pandemic is impacting your mental health, and the significance of that may be greater than you realize.
Just ask Courtney Washington. As a licensed Clinical Psychologist at Park Center, Washington works with individuals, families, and groups facing behavioral health issues on a regular basis. She says that during the unprecedented isolation and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not unusual to be feeling new mental and emotional challenges right now.
Input Fort Wayne sat down (virtually) with Washington to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our mental health, how technology can help, and how even therapists are finding themselves in need of some extra support during these trying times.
IFW: Tell us about your typical work as a Clinical Psychologist at Park Center.
CW: As a Clinical Psychologist, I wear a lot of hats. My days are never boring. I see about 20 clients between individuals, families, and group work. I’m also the Clinical Training Director for the doctoral internship here at Park Center, so I provide supervision to other departments. A lot of my work involves training and education, and I love those parts of the job.
My specialties are in sexual health, organizational and systemic functioning, LGBTQ+ issues, technology issues, and multicultural issues.
I try to be a generalist, and it all connects in many ways.
IFW: After growing up in Michigan and earning your master’s and doctorate degrees at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, you moved to Fort Wayne. What brought you here?
CW: What brought me to Fort Wayne and Park Center was my last piece of doctoral training for Clinical Psychology, which is a predoctoral internship. It’s a full year of boots-on-the-ground work, similar to a placement for a medical residency program. I had never been to Fort Wayne before, and it was the luck of the draw, but I’m really happy to be here now, and I’m very invested in the community. My partner is a cook at Bravas, so we’re really into the local food scene. We actually met in Chicago while we were both working in fine dining. Now, we’re coming up on our fourth anniversary in Fort Wayne, and we just bought 12 acres of land in Allen County. We’re in the process of starting a sustainable farm, and it’s been quite the adventure, but we love it.
IFW: In all of your experiences, did you ever imagine or study anything like the COVID-19 pandemic? How is it playing out at Park Center?
CW: The thought never crossed my mind that we would be living through something like this. It’s been a new experience, and I’m learning constantly.
At Park Center, our leadership team is meeting daily and providing staff with information and guidelines. They acted really swiftly in making the shift to telehealth, so we’re still coming into the office, but we’re meeting with clients virtually.
Our leadership has been super supportive and consistent in the message that we are essential staff, and it’s our duty to serve the community, but this has not been at the sacrifice of staff safety.
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Park Center is located at 1909 Carew St. in Fort Wayne.
IFW: As a Clinical Psychologist, tell us how this pandemic is impacting people’s mental health.
CW: The really important thing to drive home is that even people who are more in the “worried well” category and wouldn’t qualify as mentally ill are struggling with this, too. It’s such a new thing that nobody has experienced before. What we’re living through is unprecedented in recent history, so people are having lots of anxiety, lots of fear. Many people are feeling disoriented and disconnected, and if they haven’t felt these things before, they might not know why. We’re providing people with support, encouraging them to be compassionate, and saying, “It’s ok that you feel this way,” and “You’re not alone.”
IFW: We’ve heard many people say they feel bad for those who are living alone right now. What advice or resources do you suggest for people who are social distancing while living alone?
CW: Living alone right now can add an additional layer of isolation to the experience. I would say take advantage of the media and activities that are available to you. Make it a point to reach out to one person per day by phone or video. Just chatting with someone does help.
I’ve seen a lot of cool experiences online, too, like taking virtual museum tours or watching Broadway shows or learning new hobbies. Routines can keep you grounded, but monotony is also draining, so if you can learn something new, that’s awesome.
Other than that, I’d say: Get outside. Go for a walk. Any bit of connection can scratch that itch, and speaking of connection, this is also a good time to focus on reconnecting to ourselves.
We live in a super-fast-paced world, and if we’re able to reframe this experience as an opportunity to focus on reconnecting with ourselves, that’s great.
But if you’re not feeling up to that, that’s OK, too. We’re all struggling right now. It’s normal. I’ve just been encouraging people to have self-compassion and to understand that you don’t have to be the best version of yourself during this time.
IFW: As for the opposite problem—for those who are living in close quarters with loved ones right now—what are some of the challenges that they are facing, and what advice do you have for them?
CW: All of the things we just talked about can still be applicable and helpful when you’re living in close quarters with loved ones. I’ve been talking with a lot of clients who have been saying, “I love my family, but… I’m so annoyed about this or that.” I’m trying to help them remember that this feeling is normal, and no matter how much you love someone, we’re not meant to spend 24 hours, 7 days a week together.
Remember your spouse or children are dealing with this, too, and they might not be coping with it the same way as you are, so it’s really important to have patience with each other. When you’re living in close quarters for an extended period of time, patience, compassion, and kindness for others needs to be emphasized, and this takes practice; it doesn’t always come easy. We need to be thoughtful and mindful about how we’re treating each other. We all have heightened anxiety and stress right now, so now more than ever, especially in shared spaces, it’s important to respect each other as human beings.
The more we can be patient, humble, and kind in this process, the more we’ll find humanity throughout this process.
IFW: Until recent years, the importance of mental health has been largely underestimated in the U.S. How do you see the COVID-19 pandemic drawing more attention to the importance of mental health in our society?
CW: I think about it from a couple of different angles.
One thing that has been underestimated historically, especially in American culture, is the connection between the mind and body. They really are inseparable, and a good example of that is the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. It followed more than 17,000 people over the course of several years and looked at the effects of 10 adverse childhood experiences in their lives, from a parent’s mental illness to physical or sexual abuse—all kinds of things. What they found was that people who had more adverse childhood experiences not only experienced higher levels of mental health concerns, but also higher levels physical health concerns. They attribute this to the effect of chronic stress on the brain and body in development.
That speaks to me so much about how the brain and body are connected and how important it is to pay attention to our mental health, especially in times like this where everybody’s stress levels are so heightened. We are all keyed up and on edge. Some of us are living in a state of constant stress or chronic anxiety. That’s leading people to have more issues with mental struggles like depression, anxiety, or even substance abuse.
Another part of this conversation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the very bottom, we have our physiological needs, like food and shelter. Then there’s our safety needs. Then our needs for love and belonging. Then our esteem needs, and our needs for self-actualization are at the top.
For most of us right now, we’re stuck trying to meet our basic, bottom-level needs. If we don’t have our physiological needs met—if we can’t afford food or shelter, or if we feel at risk—then we’re not going to be able to function on higher levels.
The general lack of safety we’re feeling right now is permeating all people, and that’s exasperated among those of us who are also struggling with financial burdens or feeling at risk in other ways.
IFW: Speaking of those who are at risk in multiple ways, what is this experience like for people who cope with mental illness on a regular basis?
CW: People who already were vulnerable or already at risk are absolutely more vulnerable at this time. People who come to mind for me are those struggling with child abuse or domestic violence. Increased forced isolation can also increase depression and substance abuse.
We’re all struggling with these very real safety concerns, so if you struggle with something like anxiety on a regular basis, those fears are going to be exponentially larger and harder to manage now.
There’s also the difficulty of being able to get out and get medication. Chronically mentally ill patients have people coming into their homes daily to help them, and that’s necessary for their survival. It’s things like this that are part of people’s day to day lives that are exponentially harder now than they were before.
All of these concerns are often exasperated by stress, too—particularly financial stress, which is a burden so many people are carrying right now. The entire country is impacted by the economy. People are asking: How do you weigh the pros and cons of a health crisis versus the economic crisis that could be the outcome of it all? That balancing act of looking at people’s well- being on either side of the coin is hard.
IFW: Social distancing is necessary to stop the spread of the virus, but it comes with some mental health concerns, too. What would you recommend people do to maintain good mental health during this pandemic?
CW: It’s important to follow the guidelines and do what’s recommended as far as staying home and socially distancing. This is about the greater good and being respectful of ourselves and other people.
But you also have to do what you can to take care of yourself right now. If you’re able to do so in a way that’s socially safe, go outside, stand in your driveway, and talk with your neighbors. Any bits of social interaction can be helpful. A lot of people talk about video chats and meetings. Those can support the need for connection, too.
Mental health is about connection to each other, to ourselves, and to our community. Connection is essential to human existence and for humans to thrive. It’s also a protective factor from a lot of things, like mental health ailments. I think it’s important for us to do what we can in a responsible way to stay connected in ways that feel as meaningful as possible.
IFW: Social media and digital connections are typically thought to detract from in-person interaction, but now, in many ways, they are substituting for it. How is digital interaction different from in-person interaction, and can it fill the void, so to speak?
CW: There is research that supports the idea that technology in some ways serves to disconnect us and is not the same as being connected in person. While that’s true, the one exception to that rule seems to be video chatting. For example, the American Association of Pediatrics has guidelines for electronic use for children, and children under the age of 2 are not recommended to use technology at all—except for video chatting.
Part of this reason is that when we hear familiar sounds, it triggers memories and connections in our brains, and when you see someone’s face, that can also trigger those connections. The cool thing about the brain is that the more you use a connection, the stronger it gets, so it’s all about reinforcing those connections.
Video chats can serve to scratch that itch of being connected, especially when we are forced to be apart. That said, talking on a screen is not the same as talking in-person. Some of the therapists here are even struggling with telehealth because it doesn’t feel the same way that talking to a client in-person does. We’re feeling more alone and isolated, too.
IFW: That brings up another interesting part of this pandemic: Therapists might be experiencing some of these same struggles with anxiety and depression themselves. How does is this pandemic impact them?
CW: Usually as therapists, we have to be cautious about what details we share with our clients. Even though we may have a shared experience with a client, we may not share that in a direct way. But with this experience, we’re really going through this together. It’s truly a shared experience.
I was definitely fearful and struggling with the pandemic myself early on. When rumors started spreading of stay home orders, I wanted to stay home, too. It felt like a way to control my fear and manage it. But one thing we talk about with fear and anxiety is that the best way to cope with it is to face it, and the more you avoid facing things, the harder it becomes to manage them.
I’m not saying to expose yourself to the virus or anything like that, but taking small, natural steps to cope with your fear is important.
IFW: What are some of the biggest things this pandemic experience is teaching you so far?
CW: I’m a pretty compassionate and empathetic person, but I think this awareness and heightened level of stress has built up a lot more compassion and empathy in me for people who struggle with complex trauma and trauma responses.
This feeling that the world is unsafe and that we need to keep distance from others, that’s what everyday life is like for people who have trauma histories. That’s a huge piece of what I’m learning.
Also, I think this experience speaks to how amazing Fort Wayne is as a community. I know the restaurant industry is helping each other out, feeding each other’s staff, and people are doing things like buying lunches for the nurses at Parkview. I think the resiliency and support our community has for each other—the tenacity of Fort Wayne, in general—is really impressive.
Need help?
Park Center is offering new patient intake assessment appointments for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic via its telehealth platform. Appointments take about one week to schedule.
For more emergent needs, visit the Park Center Walk-In Clinic, or call the 24-hour Parkview Behavioral Health HelpLine at (260) 373-7500 or (800) 284-8439.