She lists out things like having insurance, having financial security, having a partner and friends from who she doesn’t have to hide her therapy sessions, etc.
As we just talked about yesterday, the reason less than half of all people dealing with mental health issues actually get any treatment at all is because they don’t have all of these things.
So, when I see a study like this, I don’t feel defeated, I don’t feel like we are all just broken and doomed to poorer outcomes. I see the possibility that there is room to change this current reality, but it’s going to take changing how we deal with childhood adversity and doing it in an open, honest, and immediate way.
High levels of childhood adversity don’t have to be an early death sentence. We can, and should, intervene early in order to prevent many of these outcomes. We just need the determination and will to make it happen.
Do we have that?
It’s being offered by the NHS in the UK. Basically, the idea is simple, answer five quick questions about how you’re sleeping, stress, anxiety, etc. and they’ll put together some resources that might help.
Of course, they will also suggest getting some professional help, and more formal resources and those kinds of suggestions should not be taken lightly, but I took the survey, and the things they offered me were things like plans to physically move more, sleep aids, and a mental health app that might help with some of my issues.
“Though not a replacement to therapy, Therapy Toolkit is a gentle primer for or complement to therapy. A comprehensive booklet that includes an introduction to the therapeutic process, tips on using the deck, and a list of resources for further guidance accompanies the deck.”
It’s all about flexibility. As the article below points out, online appointments don’t work for everyone. They do require a stable and fast internet connection for video, and not everyone has that.
On the other hand, they also point out that not everyone has transportation to a therapist’s office, time away from work to regular travel to appointments, or the ability to get the whole family, for example, transportation to the same location.
For those folks, the switch to Telehealth that the pandemic thrust upon all of us is proving to be a godsend because they have something that was inaccessible to them previously. Even as others need a place to meet with a therapist, or simply connect better in person.
