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Early Childhood Mental Health Clinic: Unmasking Social-Emotional Needs in Young Children
Think about this: a child who turned 5 years old in March 2022 will have spent 60% of their young life in the age of COVID. Most, if not all, of the child's active memories will be a time when traveling outside the home means wearing a mask. They were told that masks keep them safe; masks protect...
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Volunteer Engagement: Considerations for Organizational Success
Health and social service agencies, and the nonprofit sector generally, rely on volunteers to advance their missions and to ensure their continuing viability. As nonprofit organizations (NPOs) must compete for resources necessary to sustain their operations, the availability of an engaged workforce...
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The Important Role Volunteers Play in OMH’s Mission to Help Vulnerable New Yorkers
Volunteers are extraordinary people who play a critical role in behavioral healthcare. This was never more evident than during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic when the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) reached out to mental health care professionals and asked that they...
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10 Tips to Ease COVID “Re-Entry Anxiety”
As our communities move forward with re-openings and opportunities to return to the workplace, send kids back to school or socialize with friends and family, you may find yourself experiencing fear and anxiety - especially if you’ve been self-isolating or in quarantine for a long period of time....
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WellLife Network Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention Survey
Suicide rates in America were continuing to increase at alarming rates even before COVID-19. However, the economic and sociopolitical landscape as well as the increased turmoil, stress due to uncertainty, and disruption in people’s lives since COVID-19 has caused tragic changes in the lives of...
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Preparing College Students for the Spring Semester: Strategies to Manage Negative Feelings During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As we close in on a year of quarantine due to COVID-19, college students across the country continue to adjust to the social distance mandates at their respective campuses. The majority of colleges and universities restructured the fall semester to allow students to participate in virtual classes...
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A South Asian Perspective on COVID-19 Trauma: A Short Overview
On May 4th, 2020, The Washington Post published an article titled as follows, “The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental-health crisis.” It talks about the rise in the mental health needs of communities and the increased call for tele-mental health services while mental health...
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Points to Consider During the COVID-19 Pandemic That Are Impacting the SUD Community
As a health care professional with close to 40 years of experience I have seen the behavioral health field and particularly the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) field face many challenges, but none like the current COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to share the following 5 points of...
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Managing Anxiety and Protecting the Vulnerable in the Midst of a Pandemic
Who could have predicted last Thanksgiving how fundamentally different our lives would become in the months ahead? The way we work, shop, and socialize have all changed dramatically, as have the ways in which healthcare providers serve our patients. Even before the full impact of the...
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Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Behavioral Health Effects of Social Distancing and the Social Safety Net
In communities across the United States, social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is necessary to flatten the curve for Coronavirus infection rates and not overburden our healthcare system as there is no effective treatment or a vaccine on the horizon....