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Area residents on the frontline of the COVID-19 battle have a new resource to help them cope with the emotional fallout, thanks to West Texas A&M University.
Instructors and graduate students in WT’s Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work in January will launch “Thriving through the Pandemic,” a series of free online group therapy sessions for essential personnel.
“I can only imagine the stress that our healthcare workers are under and the amount of trauma and grief they have experienced over the past year,” said Alyson Morgan, WT social work instructor and graduate field liaison, who developed the program. “To combat this, our graduate social work program has developed a group therapy opportunity for essential personnel focusing on trauma, grief, stress management and coping skills.”
Above all, Morgan said, the goal is to show essential workers that “they’re not in it alone.”
“Trauma is real,” Morgan said. “A lot of us don’t always realize that, so we push down our emotions, and then everything gets worse. Just hearing other people’s stories can help with their processing.”
Essential workers — in this case, healthcare workers, first responders and frontline workers — can take part in weekly virtual sessions throughout January:
Session 1: Compassion Fatigue / Secondary Trauma: 8 p.m. Jan. 5 (signupforms.com/registrations/24687) and Jan. 7 (signupforms.com/registrations/24688)
Session 2: Grief / Loss: 8 p.m. Jan. 12 (signupforms.com/registrations/24689) and Jan. 14 (signupforms.com/registrations/24690)
Session 3: Stress Management / Physical Fatigue: 8 p.m. Jan. 19 (signupforms.com/registrations/24691) and Jan. 21 (signupforms.com/registrations/24692)
And Session 4: Coping Skills / Resources: 8 p.m. Jan. 26 (signupforms.com/registrations/24693) and Jan. 28 (signupforms.com/registrations/24694)
Sessions will be led virtually on a private platform by advanced social work students under the supervision of Morgan. Each session will offer the workers time to talk about other issues beyond the week’s topic.
“I have worked in health care, and I have lots of friends who are first responders, nurses or essential personnel,” said graduate student Tina Godino of Canadian. “I’ve seen the toll this pandemic has taken on their lives. They’re just really pushing the limits of what they have to offer.
“People who serve others always put others’ needs in front of their own,” Godino continued. “In a non-COVID year, that can be difficult. But COVID has increased that exponentially. I feel like these sessions will help those experiencing compassion fatigue, grief and loss. It will offer them a chance to decompress — to unload their stuff. You have to have your mental health to keep helping others.”
Finding innovative ways to serve the region is in line with the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
-West Texas A&M University