Asking for help when you need it is never easy, but with so many people on lockdown, it’s gotten a bit easier to get mental health support when you need it most without having to leave your house or set foot in a therapist’s office. Thanks to online platforms that connect qualified therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists with patients, getting help while we shelter in place is rapidly becoming a popular way to seek support during these difficult times.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and nationwide safer-at-home orders, online mental health platforms like Talkspace, BetterHelp, Therapy for Black Girls, and Ginger, have all seen significant surges in the number of people coming to their platforms looking for help. According to spokespeople from Talkspace, the platform has seen a 65 percent increase in demand since mid-February. BetterHelp has reportedly seen a significant uptick in the number of people using its platform, and Ginger, a platform that contracts with large companies to provide mental health services online, has increased by more than 50 percent since mid-February according to numbers from the company. Suffice it to say that the online mental health demand has grown by leaps and bounds in a very short period of time.
Most platforms are reporting an increase in requests for help with everything from anxiety and depression to lack of motivation and stress. As safer-at-home orders extend indefinitely in places like California and New York, those issues are likely to continue to intensify and increase in number, even, potentially resulting in longer-term issues like PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s important to ask for help when and if you need it, and seeking it out online is a great way to get started.
For those who are already working with a therapist, most appointments have gone virtual. As this practice becomes the new normal, it’s possible that hour-long, in-person sessions may go virtual more and more for the sake of convenience. Traveling to and from a therapy session, especially after work, can be a time and energy-sucker.
Want to know more about how to get online help if you or someone you know needs it? Read my story over at Shondaland.
