Bowen Center CEO Urges People To Seek Help If Needed During Pandemic
June 4, 2020 at 1:49 a.m.
Bowen Center CEO Urges People To Seek Help If Needed During Pandemic
By David [email protected]
Carlson was the guest panelist at the weekly COVID-19 press conference at Warsaw City Hall.
“That’s the Bowen Center’s number to schedule any kind of appointments. We’re actually having great success getting people in same day, next day unless that just doesn’t fit into the patient’s schedule,” Carlson said.
When Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb issued the emergency order to shelter in place, Carlson said Bowen Center immediately sent all its employees to work from home.
He said they addressed the three responsibilities the Bowen Center has.
First was to the patients. “And the patients that we called right away to tell them they were going to receive their services electronically were, across the board, were relieved and thankful and appreciative that they would continue to get services.”
The second responsibility was to Bowen Center’s employees: to make sure they stayed employed, had income and medical insurance.
The third was the business.
“It’s a three-legged stool, but we wanted to make sure the patients got treated and the staff treated them, but to do it safely, so we did it telephonically from home,” Carlson said.
He said the governor, head of Family Social Services Administration and various branches of the federal government all made telephonic services possible by removing all the barriers.
“I had not seen such a great movement at the federal and state level so rapidly and it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Carlson said.
He said Bowen’s psychologists didn’t take much a dip in their services and are now seeing 10% more patient visits than before the pandemic. They’re working from home, and Carlson said it’s been amazing. “This is really a useful tool and we hope it never goes away,” he said of the electronic services.
“Then our outpatient staff who do therapy with their clients, it took them about a week, week and a half to come up to speed but now they’re seeing about 5% more patients than they were before,” Carlson said.
The group that had the most difficulty, he said, were the school-based therapists.
“They were the ones that were in the school and basically summer came three months early,” he said. “And all the areas where we would have seen them in the summer are all closed. So the ones who had worked with the school, and the patient in the school and also with the parents – that was an easy transition if we already had an established relationship with the parent and the child in the home. The ones hadn’t done that, they struggled to do that.”
Carlson said Bowen has gotten to about 89% of where it was in January, which was its high point for the year. “So we continue to be available to serve patients in this and other communities where we’re at,” he said.
Pandemic Fatigue
Carlson then spoke about Pandemic Fatigue and its signs.
“This is very stressful. We’ve never experienced this before, so it’s not uncommon for people to have a whole wide variety of emotional reactions to that,” he said.
“So, for example, if you’re experiencing irritability or stress or anxiety or eating more or less than you’re use to, if you’re not sleeping well, if you’re unmotivated, if you’ve got racing thoughts, if you’re feeling rage or on edge, you’ve got Pandemic Fatigue.”
He said people have fears of this disease for themselves, family members and neighbors and of getting sick and dying; and fears of the loss of income and the loss of jobs.
“None of us are immune from this. It’s a matter of how do you cope with it, how do you maintain that resilience,” Carlson said. “... It’s normal to feel frustrated, anxious, depressed, anger.”
Children
A big concern for Carlson is children.
The Division of Children Services and schools have not been able to have eyes on children, he said, nor has the Bowen Center because it’s providing services telephonically.
“The rate of domestic violence probably went up, but we don’t know that for sure,” he said. “So as the society opens up again, we’re out in the community, then we will have eyes on those children and hopefully we will be able to detect and prevent any abuse in the home.”
He said it’s understandable how tension in parents can result in the lashing out at kids because kids experience emotional stress in various ways. “And we can easily see them as being naughty or bad and needing punishment, when, in fact, they could just be stressed and anxious and fearful and they just act in a way that really triggers the parents,” he said. “So we really need to make sure you learn to cope with the stress as a parent and help our children cope with their stress. We need to be patient and understanding and not just jump right into punishment.”
He said parents need to stick to a routine for themselves and their children.
“Structure and built-in playtime, again, both for adults and for kids,” he said. Children need interaction with their peers on a regular basis to learn normal skills.
“We need to try to have ways for kids to stay in some contact in healthy ways with their peers,” Carlson said. “We really need to limit screen time, social media and the constant deluge of the media.”
Self-Care
Self-care is very important, Carlson said.
“So, please, schedule time every day to do something you enjoy. Schedule it, make sure you do it. Not an afterthought, but a forethought. If you like reading, watching a movie, taking a walk, doing exercise, mediating, chat with a friend. Whatever,” he said.
If you have troubling thoughts or emotions, he encourages you to allow yourself to study those, examine it, see what it’s about, get past it and develop a resilience.
“At the end of each day, I suggest that you inventory, or think about, all the things that you did that added value or meaning for yourself and family members, your neighbors and society,” Carlson said.
If symptoms persist, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, Carlson said, “Please seek professional help.” He reiterated the Bowen Center’s number is 1-800-342-5653; there’s also the 211 helpline; or the website BeWellIndiana.com.
“Just seek help,” he said.
Carlson was the guest panelist at the weekly COVID-19 press conference at Warsaw City Hall.
“That’s the Bowen Center’s number to schedule any kind of appointments. We’re actually having great success getting people in same day, next day unless that just doesn’t fit into the patient’s schedule,” Carlson said.
When Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb issued the emergency order to shelter in place, Carlson said Bowen Center immediately sent all its employees to work from home.
He said they addressed the three responsibilities the Bowen Center has.
First was to the patients. “And the patients that we called right away to tell them they were going to receive their services electronically were, across the board, were relieved and thankful and appreciative that they would continue to get services.”
The second responsibility was to Bowen Center’s employees: to make sure they stayed employed, had income and medical insurance.
The third was the business.
“It’s a three-legged stool, but we wanted to make sure the patients got treated and the staff treated them, but to do it safely, so we did it telephonically from home,” Carlson said.
He said the governor, head of Family Social Services Administration and various branches of the federal government all made telephonic services possible by removing all the barriers.
“I had not seen such a great movement at the federal and state level so rapidly and it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Carlson said.
He said Bowen’s psychologists didn’t take much a dip in their services and are now seeing 10% more patient visits than before the pandemic. They’re working from home, and Carlson said it’s been amazing. “This is really a useful tool and we hope it never goes away,” he said of the electronic services.
“Then our outpatient staff who do therapy with their clients, it took them about a week, week and a half to come up to speed but now they’re seeing about 5% more patients than they were before,” Carlson said.
The group that had the most difficulty, he said, were the school-based therapists.
“They were the ones that were in the school and basically summer came three months early,” he said. “And all the areas where we would have seen them in the summer are all closed. So the ones who had worked with the school, and the patient in the school and also with the parents – that was an easy transition if we already had an established relationship with the parent and the child in the home. The ones hadn’t done that, they struggled to do that.”
Carlson said Bowen has gotten to about 89% of where it was in January, which was its high point for the year. “So we continue to be available to serve patients in this and other communities where we’re at,” he said.
Pandemic Fatigue
Carlson then spoke about Pandemic Fatigue and its signs.
“This is very stressful. We’ve never experienced this before, so it’s not uncommon for people to have a whole wide variety of emotional reactions to that,” he said.
“So, for example, if you’re experiencing irritability or stress or anxiety or eating more or less than you’re use to, if you’re not sleeping well, if you’re unmotivated, if you’ve got racing thoughts, if you’re feeling rage or on edge, you’ve got Pandemic Fatigue.”
He said people have fears of this disease for themselves, family members and neighbors and of getting sick and dying; and fears of the loss of income and the loss of jobs.
“None of us are immune from this. It’s a matter of how do you cope with it, how do you maintain that resilience,” Carlson said. “... It’s normal to feel frustrated, anxious, depressed, anger.”
Children
A big concern for Carlson is children.
The Division of Children Services and schools have not been able to have eyes on children, he said, nor has the Bowen Center because it’s providing services telephonically.
“The rate of domestic violence probably went up, but we don’t know that for sure,” he said. “So as the society opens up again, we’re out in the community, then we will have eyes on those children and hopefully we will be able to detect and prevent any abuse in the home.”
He said it’s understandable how tension in parents can result in the lashing out at kids because kids experience emotional stress in various ways. “And we can easily see them as being naughty or bad and needing punishment, when, in fact, they could just be stressed and anxious and fearful and they just act in a way that really triggers the parents,” he said. “So we really need to make sure you learn to cope with the stress as a parent and help our children cope with their stress. We need to be patient and understanding and not just jump right into punishment.”
He said parents need to stick to a routine for themselves and their children.
“Structure and built-in playtime, again, both for adults and for kids,” he said. Children need interaction with their peers on a regular basis to learn normal skills.
“We need to try to have ways for kids to stay in some contact in healthy ways with their peers,” Carlson said. “We really need to limit screen time, social media and the constant deluge of the media.”
Self-Care
Self-care is very important, Carlson said.
“So, please, schedule time every day to do something you enjoy. Schedule it, make sure you do it. Not an afterthought, but a forethought. If you like reading, watching a movie, taking a walk, doing exercise, mediating, chat with a friend. Whatever,” he said.
If you have troubling thoughts or emotions, he encourages you to allow yourself to study those, examine it, see what it’s about, get past it and develop a resilience.
“At the end of each day, I suggest that you inventory, or think about, all the things that you did that added value or meaning for yourself and family members, your neighbors and society,” Carlson said.
If symptoms persist, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, Carlson said, “Please seek professional help.” He reiterated the Bowen Center’s number is 1-800-342-5653; there’s also the 211 helpline; or the website BeWellIndiana.com.
“Just seek help,” he said.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092