I’m 31 weeks pregnant. I’m healthy, and my OB assures me the labor and delivery units are safe. But I’m anxious all the time about what giving birth during this time might mean, about my health and my baby’s, about possibly having to be alone while I give birth. How do I get through this time?
My relationship was in trouble and had a lot of conflict prior to COVID. Now, my partner and I are having even more trouble navigating the relationship. We’ve decided to quarantine apart. I both miss him and we’re still fighting. What can we do for our relationship to help get through this time? What can I do to tolerate this?
I know many people are really struggling with the isolation right now, but I have to admit I’m actually loving the decreased social pressure and am finding my stress lower than ever. How do I keep this going once life resumes normalcy?
These are just some of the questions our NYC remote therapists have heard in their online therapy sessions during COVID-19. Doing phone and video therapy sessions with individuals, couples, and families, our therapists have encountered a multitude of concerns that have come up around quarantine and its effects, including isolation, uncertainty, and financial instability. Hoping that these questions could be a comfort to readers experiencing similar feelings about their lives and relationships right now, Tribeca Therapy recently published a set of the most common questions in Tribeca Citizen.
More than just a set of questions to consider, though, Tribeca Therapy is offering to answer questions submitted by readers over the next couple weeks. To submit a question, answer in the comment section on Tribeca Citizen here.
“Questions for therapists in a time of crisis” is paired with a Q&A interview with our Founder and Clinical Director Matt Lundquist. Highlighting Tribeca Therapy as a local business that treats many patients living in the neighborhood, the interview updates readers on how the practice is fairing through both the pandemic and the transition to remote therapy, as well as how the crisis has caused people to miss and rethink community.
Admitting he’s the “busiest I’ve ever been,” Matt explains that patients have found online therapy “meaningful and have found greater need for the work,” which has been “gratifying.” Despite some adjustments to working remotely, Matt says that remote therapy provides opportunity: “We are in people’s homes, with kids and cats and partners walking across the screen. There are some opportunities there. And it shows you that we are all in this together. We are all locked up at home and we are all worried about getting sick and the impact on the economy. There’s a clear awareness that even the therapist is in the same boat. There’s something sort of intimate in a meaningful way about that.”
In regards to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Matt observes that within the practice, there has been discussion about how the crisis has forced many to rethink how we organize our lives, including “our relationships with each other, with time and work, with bars and restaurants, with our communities.” “This is a chance to appreciate the institutions and local businesses that are meaningful to us. And I hope people have a greater appreciation for the meaning of gathering in person. A lot of people are also thinking about what their values are,” Matt says.
Asked what patients seem to be missing most, Matt responds that folks seem to be missing the experience of being with other people, in particular kids miss being around other kids. Matt notes, “People miss dancing, live music, the joy of being at a party together. Or even missing how some people smell! I also didn’t realize I had so many co-workers who are huggers. Some of us adults are doing our very best job to play, but the 7-year-old is basically saying, ‘Y’all are a poor substitute for a kid.’ We can now really appreciate the value of running around a playground, the simple pleasure of sitting next to friends at lunch time and the value of doing things as only kids can.”
Read more of “Local Business Update: Tribeca Therapy” and “Questions for therapists in a time of crisis” on Tribeca Citizen.
