In Touch Volunteer
How did you feel when you learned that the virus that is afflicting individuals by the hundreds of thousands has already reached your immediate community? And that all your carefully laid out plans for 2020 had to be stalled, if not totally cancelled?
If you felt disappointed, worried, scared, or helpless, you are not alone.
The ripple effects of COVID-19 and the corresponding measures to contain it were so out of the ordinary that even the wealthiest nations and strongest institutions were overwhelmed and needed to take a pause to find a proper response. As a professional or a business owner who is used to being in control of your time and circumstance, you may have also struggled to keep yourself up after being thrust into a unique situation that not only limited your movements and interactions, but even your personal progress.
In Touch Counseling Psychologist Len Hizon attributes the current mental health issues of working professionals to the sense of powerlessness and lack of control that they experience while in quarantine and isolation. “Fairly productive individuals are used to having their identities defined by what they do and who they are in the world so when the pandemic happened and quarantines had to be imposed, many felt like they lost both their identities and sense of power.”
Len believes that in a time when the usual suggestions do not work, helping people find concrete solutions by themselves is fundamental to building resilience. She shares these five mental keys that can help you take back your power and achieve balance in your life while in the midst of the pandemic:
*The character stated is not representative of a specific case but a composite of the counselor’s psychotherapy work in dealing with workplace issues.
Maria Belen “Len” M. Hizon provides individual and group psychotherapy geared towards empowering clients to learn strategies to better cope with day-to-day stressors, episodes of depression, and anxiety management. Additionally, she runs psycho-educational talks and workshops focusing on recognizing the onset of possible episodes of anxiety and depression to enable a proactive approach to managing symptoms. Len is a licensed Psychologist (RPsy) in the Philippines as well as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Child Mental Health Specialist (CMHS), and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Specialist (EMMHS) in the State of Washington, USA.
Feature Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
We are pleased to announce that our Penelope Case Management system is now LIVE.
In Touch has specially designed the training to ensure takeaways included learning different tools that will help trainees provide a safe space for people to work out their stressors and learn the benefits of workplace counseling.
Kindly be advised that In Touch Community Services will be operating at a limited capacity during the holiday season (December 18 – January 1).
Keeping In Touch: (from left) In Touch Head of Psychological Services Unit Dr. Julian Montano, Mental Health Services Lead Myrtle Almando, US Embassy Medical Unit rep Mimi Thein, US EMU Regional Medical Officer Psychiatrist Andrea Ross, In Touch Executive Director Mike Calleja, In Touch Foreign Liaison Program relationship managers Marielle Mikkelsen and Daisy Pope-Brien.
Fairly productive individuals are used to having their identities defined by what they do and who they are in the world so when the pandemic happened and quarantines had to be imposed, many felt like they lost both their identities and sense of power.
For any immediate or in-the-moment emotional support, call our 24/7 CRISIS LINE. Our professionally trained responders are on standby to assist you.
