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Ohio’s Psychology Department Tackles Mental Health Issues Related to COVID
< < Back to ohios-psychology-department-tackles-mental-health-issues-related-to-covidThe Ohio University Clinical Psychology Department has been researching mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation associated with it. And the Department is providing help to those in need of assistance.
With some people, the pandemic has elevated levels of anxiety, panic disorders, and the intolerance for uncertainty, says Dr. Nicholas Allan, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Ohio University.
The pandemic’s forced isolation also has heightened levels of loneliness and depression, according to Dr. Allan.
These topics are subjects of Dr. Allan’s research, but he did not want to only study these issues. Instead, he wanted to provide some help and assistance to people in the region.
So, the Psychology and Social Work Clinic at Ohio University offers low-cost sessions on coping with stress and anxiety to both campus and community members.
The sessions are virtual sessions where a client is teamed with a trained professional in the Psychology and Social Work Clinic.
“As we transition from 2020 and life-altering global issues to a hopeful but uncertain future, fear and anxiety are expected. However, if anxiety is too overwhelming or uncertainty too distressing, the return to normal can be unnecessarily unpleasant,” Dr. Allan says.
The clinic offers individual sessions and group virtual interventions designed to give a person the tools to navigate this future more successfully using empirically supported research tools, Dr. Allan notes.
“These interventions are available via telehealth (virtual) for convenience and include use of a mobile app to provide increased support. Fee waivers are available,” the Clinics website says.
Allen notes that the center offers different types of sessions for various needs. There are group sessions for middle and high school students and individual and group sessions for adults.