Helping Your Student Through the COVID-19 Pandemic in Amherst, MA (Hampshire County)
Students of all ages have been sent home and are completing the academic year online. These steps are absolutely necessary in preventing the spread of COVID-19, but they are also taking a toll on our students mental, behavioral, and academic health.
If you’re a parent of a student during the shelter in place order, theses phrases might sound familiar:
“I’m bored.”
“There’s nothing to do.”
“My online classes are dumb. They don’t even work.”
Or maybe, you don’t hear much at all because they leave their rooms less than normal. Without daily contact with friends, hobbies, and the routine that made up their life until today, students of all ages are more likely to slip into depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other dangerous mental illnesses.
Of course, most students are dealing with the change in routine won’t develop a mental illness. But still, feelings of apathy, worthlessness, and anxiety are on the rise. Online schooling can be difficult for those with learning disabilities like ADHD, Autism, or those who don’t work well in a virtual school environment.
Whatever your student is struggling with, Thriveworks Amherst MA offers comprehensive online therapy to meet their needs. To schedule an online therapy session or to ask any questions, call (413) 684-4805.
What Are Some of the Struggles Facing Students Today?
Students in elementary, middle, high school, and college are facing higher levels of anxiety and depression than any generation previous. There’s a lot of speculation and research as to why the rise in mental health concerns, and researchers haven’t come to a conclusive agreement. Many think social media and the hyper-connected world plays a strong role.
Whatever the reasons, it is most likely exacerbated by the shelter in place orders and isolation happening across the world. There’s no doubt in Thriveworks Amherst’s mind, our students are resilient and will overcome this. But that doesn’t mean we can’t help them along the way.
Our online therapists have seen students virtually for many reasons, including.
- Loneliness
- Anxiety around how COVID-19 will affect their future
- Depression
- Worsening symptoms of eating disorders
- Trouble adapting to online schooling
- Boredom or restlessness
- Coronavirus fear and anxiety
- Feeling isolated from friends and passions; loss of self
- Worsened behavioral health problems (coping with ADHD in isolation, a surge in aggression, adapting to a new routine with autism, etc.)
Our students are incredibly perceptive. They may not always demonstrate it, but they understand the coronavirus is world-altering. They know their futures are likely to be changed forever by this, and that’s a tough burden to bear when you’re trying to graduate high school or are entering the middle school.
Online therapy in Pioneer Valley seeks to encourage, support, and uplift our youth. Social distancing has put a halt on many of life’s normal activities, but our students are still growing older. They are still our future, and they deserve the chance to thrive.
What Is Online Therapy?
Virtual therapy with Thriveworks Amherst gives you all the benefits of in-person counseling from the comfort and safety of your own home. Research has been done on how virtual therapy compares to in-person therapy and the results are conclusive:
Online counseling is just as effective as in-person counseling.
Why is telehealth therapy so effective?
- It’s convenient: Moving around or canceling therapy sessions is easier to do when you don’t have to drive to a counseling office and sit in the waiting room. Online therapy is designed to give you maximum benefits with least amount of hassle.
- It’s safe: Especially with COVID-19 and shelter in place orders, virtual therapy is a staple in mental and behavioral health. But beyond keeping Amherst safe from the virus, online counseling has also been shown by researchers to make clients feel more secure. With a screen in between you and your counselor, students especially are more likely to open up. This makes the counseling process go faster.
- It’s comfortable: Warm up your coffee and grab your favorite blanket, because you don’t even have to leave your house for online counseling. Although we all are probably wishing we could leave the house about now, there is still that sense of comfort and belonging when you’re sitting in your bed.
Whatever age your student is, their routines have probably been flipped upside down. With the change in routine, the uncertain future, and the lack of friends and external outlets, our Amherst students are struggling. To help cope with the changes and prepare for the future, Thriveworks Amherst is happy to talk to your student virtually with an online therapy session. To schedule an appointment or to ask any questions, call (413) 684-4805.
