To all UConn Health employees, the Mood and Anxiety Clinic & Department of Psychiatry are deeply grateful for your tireless efforts on the front-lines of caring for patients affected by this pandemic. Your efforts are keeping us and communities around us safe by curtailing the spread of the virus and providing the best and most compassionate care for every patient. We understand that all of this comes with a significant physical and emotional toll on you and your loved ones. Many of you work long hours, are also caring for and protecting your loved ones, and grieving the losses that affect all of us so deeply. Your dedication is heroic, and it comes at a price. We know that all of you are concerned about the safety of your family members, friends as and co-workers. Many of you may have experienced stigma for being on the front lines, and felt traumatized as you witness terrible pain and suffering. You have to carry on even when you feel exhausted physically and emotionally, and that is the heavy toll of stress and compassion fatigue that is unavoidable for first responders. At this time, it’s often difficult to think about taking care of yourself, and there’s little time to do so – but finding ways to manage the stress and recharge yourself emotionally as well as physically is every front line worker’s right and responsibility.
We, providers in the Mood and Anxiety Clinic, want to do our part to support you during these difficult times. Our clinicians can provide short-term psychological (and if necessary pharmacological) care to help you be highly effective in managing the unavoidable stress and to address any emotional difficulties you are dealing with, personally and professionally. Comprehensive evaluation and treatment appointments will be scheduled with our providers (psychologists and psychiatrists) within 24-48 hours. We are closely coordinating these efforts with EAP and HR.
To set up an appointment, you can call EAP at 860-679-2877 or the Mood and Anxiety Clinic at 860-679-5414 with a self-referral. All care is confidential.
Also, confidential on-site counseling support is available M-F from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m, no appointment is required. Inside the Wellness Center comfort room, a private counseling space is available for you. Immediate counseling support may be accessed through telehealth with video capability, and by phone. Either way, easy-to-follow instructions for accessing a counselor are in the counseling space.
We wholeheartedly thank you for all you are doing to care for others and to combat this outbreak.
For more information, contact: Dr. Jayesh Kamath at jkamath@uchc.edu