"This is such a unique and rare circumstance in history and in our lives,"
“This is such a unique and rare circumstance in history and in our lives,” said Andrew Fleming, a psychologist who also runs, with his wife, a wedding venue on their farm on San Juan Island, north of Seattle. “In 10 years, in 20 years, in 30 years, we will be asking each other, ‘What did you do during the coronavirus?’ and we will be asking ourselves, ‘How did you respond?’”
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Mental health professionals in Seattle have been overwhelmed with work for the past month, and many are juggling their own concerns with the anxiety of their patients.
Julia Hitch, 40, is a psychologist and a founder of the Seattle Clinic, a practice of 21 therapists. Last week, she saw patients back-to-back, including over the weekend, because of the influx of college students who have returned home after canceled semesters, disoriented and depressed.
This week, she is meeting with patients over video conferencing, working out of the spare bedroom that she and her husband are sharing as a makeshift office.
A big part of her practice is working with patients who have obsessive-compulsive disorder, including some she has worked with for years to overcome ritualistic hand-washing. “For someone who has stopped doing that, now it feels like a huge loss to them to have to go back to these behaviors,” she said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/us/coronavirus-seattle-anxiety-mental-health-stress.html