Covid-19 Blog Posts (unabridged)
First, I want to say thank you for taking this unexpected journey with us. These are rapidly changing times, requiring us all to be flexible and shift to new ways of doing things. How we “go to work,” how the kids still “go to school,” how we connect with our friends and families, as well as how we engage in previous activities that we’d taken for granted has all been turned upside down. This has, of course, also impacted how we run the Bluestone office and engage in therapy, both as clients and as therapists.
I look forward to the day when we are looking at this experience in the rear-view mirror but realize this may go on for some time. In response to our state lawmakers and CDC guidelines to minimize exposure, we have spent this last week finalizing how we will move Bluestone operations, therapy and medication management services into the digital world. You may have already heard from your therapist, but if you haven’t, on Monday, March 23rd, Bluestone is moving all of its services to a telehealth format. I am happy to say, we are gaining fluidity and confidence in the new procedures and so are our clients. We are so pleased to be getting really positive feedback from those clients who have already tried it!
I wanted to send you all a note about what this move to telehealth means for you:
1. Your therapists are ready for you! We have a fully HIPAA compliant video and phone system for telehealth and all of our therapists are trained in how to use it. They have training in delivering telehealth and have actually found it working quite well with the sessions they have already done. You are important to us and we want to be here with you and for you. At least through March, some of the HIPAA restrictions have been lifted, making it easier for telehealth services to be provided. You can meet us by phone and/or through our video platform, which clients have found easy to learn.
2. Nothing has changed in our Patient Portal, which you can continue to access from our website. You can still manage appointments, update information, and email your therapist confidentially using your same user name and password.
To reach your therapist most easily, please call their extensions:
Randie Clark, x708
Emily Visser, x710
Terri Buysse, x706
Julie Hanson, x 701
Terri Haaga, x714
Kristi Leksen, x704
Bill Roedel, x 702
Cherrie Palmer, x712
Stephanie Bates, x705
Doralissa Griffin, x707
Kristin Mendoza, x703
Skye Camphouse, x716
3. Please do not terminate your care. These are unprecedented times and I know you may feel like you can’t possibly do one more thing, take one more change. While I appreciate the jokes about how busy maternity wards will be in nine months, I am also aware of how stress and disruption in routines that are outside of our control can wreak havoc on our patience, communication skills, sleep, energy levels, and moods. Keeping the support of and connection with your therapist can help you navigate this uninvited time of change and come out strong.
If you do feel a need to end care for a while, we encourage you to have a termination appointment so we can help you build up your care plan going forward. When compared to an unplanned, abrupt ending, a planned termination has been shown to significantly improve a client’s success after care. If you still want to end your care, at least for now, and would like to return at a later time, just give us a call and we will get you back on your therapist’s schedule as soon as we can. We unfortunately cannot hold appointment times indefinitely.
4. If you had already ended a previous episode of care and now want to return, just give Kayla a call or send us an email at gethelp@bluestoneps.com. You may find yourself slipping a bit as you go through all these changes. This is completely understandable and we welcome the opportunity to reconnect you with your therapist or match you with a new one. If you are working from home, you may have greater flexibility in your schedule. Not having to travel to and from the office may make it easier to fit an appointment into your day. We can vary lengths of appointments to help with cost and time constraints. Just let us know if you’d like to “come in” for a booster!
5. We will need to verify the benefits again for several insurance plans. Many insurance companies have had a strong, supportive response in order to decrease barriers to telehealth services, which has been wonderful! However, it is not true for all insurance plans. This is most notable with self-funded plans. We want to decrease stress for you as much as possible, so please be patient as we attempt to verify telehealth benefits for each of you. You may receive a call or new payment agreement form about this from Rachel or Asya in our billing department, or from your therapist. You are also welcome to give billing a call or send an email to billingsolutions@bluestoneps.com.
For now, please just come to your appointments and we will figure out the other bits as we go, including considering sliding fees for those who have lost jobs and income during this time. Varying the lengths of appointments can also help mediate cost, if needed. Let’s work together!
6. Our staff are ready for you! We are still “here” at the same email addresses and phone numbers. Kayla is still available for front desk tasks at 425-775-4059, x2 and gethelp@bluestoneps.com. Rachel and Asya are still available for billing questions at 425-775-4059, x3 and billingsolutions@bluestoneps.com.
We love what we do and being able to answer the call to be of service. We look forward to continuing your care with as little disruption to you as possible.
Please keep looking for and reading the newsletters and therapist emails you will be receiving with greater frequency now so we can stay in communication with you. I will also be posting updates here on our website and our Facebook page.
Here’s to your health and seeing you on the other side!
Take very good care,
Julie Hanson, Psy.D,. LMHC
Director, Bluestone Psychological Services
Hello Bluestone Connections Readers!
We are thinking of you all during this challenging time and hoping you and your loved ones are doing well. There are some of you whom we haven’t seen in a while because the initial stay home order was only set to last for 15 days so it didn’t seem like a big deal to wait. Now, however, you may find the stress we are all living with is beginning to grow and take its toll. This may be especially true now that the duration of our required social distancing is extended through April and the news about COVID-19 is not actually getting better or more reassuring.
As we settle into our new normal, I encourage you to consider your self-care more strongly than ever. This is not a sprint but a long-distance event that you will need stamina for to get through. With telehealth being easier to get now, and many insurance companies waiving some consumer’s costs (waived copays, for example, with some insurers), this is a great time to get started on your journey toward emotional wellness through video counseling.
Here are some ideas to keep yourself strong:
1. Exercise, exercise, exercise!
It’s clear that since COVID-19, we are moving less and missing out on reducing biochemical stress (being more sedentary delays the release of cortisol and other biological consequences of stress) as well as biomechanical stress (with decreased activity our muscles aren’t releasing physiological tension). We are also missing the opportunity of building the feel-good hormones and maintaining a felt sense of balance and strength in our bodies and the improved cognitive clarity and focus that come with exercise.
There are many ways to exercise even while social distancing:
a. Fortunately, Spring is on its way. Being out of doors can actually be a relief now! It’s a prefect time to get to the walking, running, or biking you’ve been thinking about.
b. Check out your gym’s or studio’s webpage and see if they are live streaming any of their classes.
c. There are a ton of apps and videos available that you can try out – many have free trial periods or are free all the time.
d. Make it fun for the whole family – each family member can take turns finding a free exercise session on YouTube and everyone can do it together. Break into teams, each learning a dance routine and then have a dance off. Create a family Olympics where everyone decides what they want to work on and what their personal best goal is – and then cheer each other on!
2. Develop a spiritual/contemplative practice.
We often think this would be a good idea, hear that it is something we “should” do. With more time at home, this could be a perfect opportunity to:
a. Download that inspiring book you’ve always wanted to read from a book store or the library.
b. Watch a movie or Ted Talk that gets you thinking about deeper/bigger things rather than encourages you tune out.
c. Download that meditation app your friend told you about ages ago and give it a try.
d. Ever have a church or other place you thought looked interesting but never had the time to actually go to? Many are now live streaming their lectures/services from their websites and/or social media. It’s a perfect time to check them out!
e. Try journaling – if nothing else, this is a very strange time of constricted movement, changed work/school environment and habits, a major pandemic, and more. There’s certainly more to reflect on and write about!
3. Take COVID-19 breaks.
I cannot emphasize this enough! The news about C-19 is constant and yet, relatively little of it is giving us new information. It’s typically report after report about the strain on our medical facilities, risks to medical personnel, threats to our wellbeing, news of increasing numbers of cases and deaths, borders closing and restricted travel around the world, what the latest expert says or politician is or isn’t doing. All the fear and negativity wreaks havoc on our emotions and our bodies.
Here are some ideas to take a break from it all:
a. Decide on one or two news sources you trust and want to follow and then only check in on them once or twice a day for a set amount of time each.
b. Take up gardening. Even if all you have is a tiny balcony, you can start growing vegetable and flower starts to move into a bigger pot as the season progresses. For those with bigger yard space, there’s certainly plenty of Spring clean up to be done now. Maybe this is the year to build that special patio to relax on or rethink a part of your garden beds. You can start preparing those spaces now. You can try growing things from seed, try propagating from plants you already have.
c. There are many “normal” things happening right now too. Make it a point to look for those, notice them, feel them in your body. Is there a favorite tree that is beginning to bloom again? Are you noticing how much longer day light is with us now? Are there certain birds that are coming back to visit the new flowers and berries around you. Take the time to observe and feel it in your body.
d. Get inspired by art and beauty and share it with those important to you:
i. Create new playlists that support your emotional wellbeing.
ii. Find photographs, pieces of art, poems, dance performances, anything that help you express what is in your heart, focusing on gratitude, love, hope.
These are unprecedented times. My grandparents talked about the Great Depression. Relatives talked about living through WWII. My generation had 9-11. Our young people will talk about living through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s longer term impact on our culture has yet to be seen. While we’re in this part of the experience, there are a number of choices we can make to care for ourselves and to keep our mental, emotional and physical selves strong.
If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to reach out. Appointment times are available for new and returning clients. If you’re concerned that having a counseling appointment by video would feel strange or be complicated, please reach out. We would be happy to walk you through the process, including a free 10 minute practice run through so you can learn just how easy it is. Click here for more information about telehealth.
And, in the midst of all this, we are excited to announce a new addition to our panel of therapists. Sara Magdaleno, MSW, LICSW brings her talents and interest in working with clients aged 12 through adult to our office. See below for more information.
Take care and be well!
Julie Hanson, PsyD, LMHC
Director
Bluestone Psychological Services
Change can be hard, even if it’s anticipated and welcome. So far 2020 has brought us momentous opportunities to practice mindful acceptance, grow our resilience, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and how we care for each other. As our landscape continues to evolve and change, we, the employees and independent therapists at Bluestone, remain committed to your emotional health and well-being. We are at Bluestone because we are purpose driven: to be agents of change and healing in the lives of those around us. One of our core values is Honor. By this we mean honoring you as the unique human you are and treating all our fellow humans with dignity and respect.
Everyone connected to Bluestone, be it as an employee or as one of our independent clinicians, agrees with this core value and strives to walk their talk. We do this by doing our own work through training, reading, our own therapy, and talking openly and honestly with each other. While we can’t always know what our blind spots are, we want to. If you become aware of one of our blind spots, we want to hear from you!
You may be wondering if or when the Bluestone offices will begin offering in-person appointments again and what we are doing to keep everyone as safe as possible. While we cannot guarantee that there is no risk of exposure to COVID-19 within our office spaces, we can follow recommended guidelines as much as possible and make collaborative decisions with you about your care. Our latest newsletter outlined some of the details we consider when making the decision to re-open and welcome staff as well as clients back into our office spaces. It is not a simple decision to make and so each therapist will make his or her own choices while considering their own health status and risk, the health status and risk of their clients, and what is most clinically appropriate for each individual client.
This brief video will give you an idea of what we are doing as well as what to expect if you do come in for an appointment. Following the CDC and state guidelines as well as the guidelines from our professional organizations, our primary recommendation continues to be to receive your care via telehealth. You are welcome to bring any questions to your therapist.
So how has 2020 been for you? Easy peasy? Yeah, me neither. Normal life struggles are hard enough, but then you add a pandemic and cultural, political distress and many of us are left feeling a type of discomfort that we’ve never experienced before. If you’re like me, you probably assumed that by the time this new school year started, we’d be returning to “normal” life. Overwhelmed, anxious, sad, frustrated, depressed, mad, upset, confused, disappointed- these, and more, you’ve probably felt at some time or another, especially as virtual school begins.
As students during a pandemic, the challenges you’re facing are unreal. You are true rock stars through all of this! So how do you, as students, navigate this new school year? Each day can look so different and each of you needs something different – and that is what makes YOU so wonderful and important!
IF YOU’RE FINDING YOURSELF FEELING ANXIOUS
Did you know that you can’t have an overly anxious mind in a relaxed body? It’s because your muscles send direct messages to your brain. Think of it like this, when you see a tarantula, you may scream and run the opposite direction. You are in “flight” mode. Now imagine you’ve had a tarantula as a pet. When you see one outside, you would probably move closer because you’re familiar with them and are less afraid.
The tarantula is anxiety. If you’ve had time to experience it, learn it, and become familiar with it, you are not as afraid or worried when that anxiety occurs. You don’t run and try to avoid it because you’re confident in your skills because you know what anxiety is and how you can gain control. But if you’re new to anxiety or have avoided it, you may be feeling paralyzed with emotion during this pandemic and chaos.
So, how do you relax your muscles when you feel anxious or paralyzed with emotions?
Try these ideas:
Deep breaths: Practice these in your most relaxed times so your body gains muscle memory skills that it can draw on for those high emotional times:
- Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 3 seconds, and exhale out your mouth for 5 seconds. Feel your chest and stomach rise and fall with each breath.
- Visualize your breath as a colored fog- each emotion you’re feeling could represent a different color. Inhale through your nose for 5-8 seconds and imagine that colored fog gathering up in your throat. Hold your breath for 3 seconds. Exhale out of your mouth for 5-8 second and imagine breathing out all of the colored fog. Then allow yourself to choose the colored fog that then fills your body. EX: calm could be light blue, happy could be light yellow, and energized could be purple.
- Stretch your muscles for a few minutes. Try and focus on the muscles that tend to tighten up most- maybe your jaw, shoulders, or legs? Listen to your body- this isn’t for exercise.Body Scanning: Lay down flat so every muscle can be relaxed and comfortable. Imagine a halo starting at your toes and slowly moving up towards your head. Relax each muscle that the halo covers. Practice having a relaxed body for 1 minute at a time.Drawing your breath: With no expectations, take a paper and pen and draw whatever comes to mind as you focus on your breaths (scribbles, shapes, etc.) Do for 1-3 minutes, or as needed
AND FOR YOU ADULTS TAKING CARE OF THESE UNIQUE PERSONS
For parents and guardians, not only are you navigating all these emotions yourself, but you’re learning how to emotionally support the child(ren) in your life through this unknown time. The ideas previously listed for how to relax your body can be extremely helpful as you take care of yourself, too. Allowing your body to feel relaxed could allow you to be more present for all of the responsibilities you have. Rest assured, though, your love for your child(ren) goes a long way!
How do you show them love? Do you know how they experience love best?
- Hug or shoulder rub?
- Words or little notes of encouragement?
- Help with their chores or homework?
- Gifts, like something new or their favorite snack?
- Quality time doing something you both enjoy?
Often times we show love and affection the way we feel it most, but that may not be how others in your life feel love. Understanding what your loved one needs could help eliminate the guessing game of how to help. Here are some ideas:
- If you haven’t already, ask your child(ren) to take the free love language quiz online. You can find it here: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/teen-quiz/
- This could help decrease any communication barriers and help you understand how your child(ren) experiences love.
- Take breaks for time for you to focus on self-care and challenge any condescending, negative thoughts that may come up. Guilt can ruin any self-care you try to do.
- Lastly, know that we want to talk to you, too! You are just as important and worthy of support as your child(ren) are. Don’t hesitate to ask for time.
Regardless of what works for you, let’s open up the conversation of mental health and normalize having emotions. Allow the uniqueness of you to strengthen and shine and remember that you already have a 100% success rate of surviving your worst and hardest days! You’re all still here, breathing, doing the best you can, and maybe even thriving at times. That is amazing and I hope you can be proud of that. Things may be tough and unknown, but so far you have proved that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!