26 May 2020

BY: admin

Virtual Counseling

Family Counseling During COVID-19

Family Counseling During COVID-19

The coronavirus presents challenges not only to your personal mental health but the entire family. You or a partner may have lost your job; the stress of parenting during a pandemic coupled with health anxiety and financial troubles can cause us to withdraw, become emotionally detached and even argue with our loved ones far more than usual.

Social distancing means neither children nor parents have the opportunity to spend time with their friends. Without an outside support system, life can feel intensely confining. Everyone needs a healthy dose of personal space and independence, even children. Striking this balance amid stay-at-home orders may seem impossible, but with the right help, it can be done.

Whatever troubles you may face, our online family counseling services can help you resolve problems peacefully. We help the entire family learn how to communicate better, support one another and fulfill their unique role in the household.

Parenting During the Coronavirus
Most parents are accustomed to having their children in school during the day while they work. Now, you find yourself responsible for not only your child’s well-being but also their education. Although many schools provide daily virtual instruction, it can be difficult to establish reasonable boundaries and appropriate discipline.

Therapy can help parents learn how to address troublesome behaviors without losing their temper or damaging their relationships with their children; family counseling also provides children with an opportunity to share their thoughts and express feelings they may struggle to communicate on their own. This fosters a deeper sense of trust and understanding throughout the family.

Self-Care and Relationships
For couples who are quarantined together, finding time to care for themselves and nourish their relationship can be extremely challenging. On top of work, parenting and stress, quality time as partners may fall to the backburner. However, it is important to learn how to work together so challenges bring you closer together, not further apart.

Counseling offers a space to release feelings you have been holding onto without escalating into an argument. Therapists help couples learn how to focus on solutions, not problems. By sharing responsibilities, respecting each other’s need for self-care and scheduling time to be together, you can restore balance to your family and relationship.

Transition Anxiety
Children who struggle to transition from school to being at home constantly are likely to express their frustration or worry through misbehavior. Your once mild-mannered child could suddenly become argumentative and defiant; children with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder are particularly sensitive to change, so finding ways to help them adjust and regain a sense of balance is crucial.

Through online family therapy, one of our licensed counselors can help you begin to understand change and anxiety through your children’s eyes. They can also offer tips for your own mental health so you are able to be fully present and emotionally engaged through the uncertainty of COVID-19.

Distance Learning Support
Virtual family counseling addresses everything from major changes to the family unit to everyday struggles. As parents and children face what is likely to be a prolonged period of distance education, it is important to make virtual schooling easy and fun.

Children who are resistant to learning on a computer may be more responsive to different approaches. Tailoring education to their unique learning style can reduce defiant behaviors, improve attitudes and even foster excitement toward learning new things each day.

To learn more about our services or schedule an appointment, please contact us.

Caring Heart Counseling - Blog - Relationship Counseling During COVID-19 (1) 27 Apr 2020

BY: admin

Relationships / Virtual Counseling

Relationship Counseling During COVID-19

Relationship Counseling During COVID-19

Quarantine and COVID-19 pose unique challenges to couples; some may be finding it difficult to maintain personal boundaries and healthy communication as they quarantine together while others are feeling detached and disconnected due to social isolation. Relationships are not exempt from the added stress of coping with the coronavirus, but partners do not have to simply hope for the best and ignore their problems.

Relationship counseling online can bridge the distance of social isolation and connect couples with licensed therapists who can help them work through any challenges they’re experiencing.

How Relationships Are Impacted by the Coronavirus

Dating requires consistency, communication and a healthy dose of independence on both sides. Couples currently find themselves either separated by mandatory shelter-in-place orders or confined together in their living quarters with limited outside social contacts.

For even the closest couples, quarantining together can be difficult. Constantly being around one another can lead to more arguing, and the flare-up of mental health symptoms many are experiencing may put further strain on a relationship.

Some partners may feel helpless as their significant other’s anxiety and/or depression symptoms worsen. Others might not be sure how to express their desire for personal space without being offensive. There may be limited opportunity to separate and cool off before resolving arguments. Others may feel like their relationship is stagnating without the ability to go out and do things together.

On the other end of the spectrum, COVID-19 has led to social isolation that has many couples separated. Those in long-distance relationships may feel especially distraught as they have no definitive date when they can see one another again.

The stress of managing a relationship and life during the coronavirus makes online counseling and relationship therapy a beneficial tool to anyone who finds themselves struggling during this time.

What Relationship Counseling Can Do Today

No therapist has all the answers, and couples might even feel like they’re at a loss for help with physical offices closed. But online counseling for couples can be just as effective as in-person sessions. Couples can speak together or individually to a counselor about what they’re going through and work on developing solutions.

Online counseling provides the opportunity for couples to express thoughts and feelings they may not be able to articulate with their partner during regular conversation. A counselor knows how to ask questions that facilitate constructive dialogue and foster understanding.

Together, couples and individual partners can work with a counselor to learn how to support each other through COVID-19 and protect their relationship. To speak with a therapist or request an appointment, click here.