In Case You Haven't Heard…

Should therapists have a therapist? Science says yes, according to Valentina Stoycheva, Ph.D., founder of Stress & Trauma Evaluation and Psychological Services, in the May 24 issue of Psychology Today. “The longer the current COVID‐19 pandemic lasts and the higher its death toll, the more prominent the need for mental health services will become,” Stoycheva wrote. “In turn, this may create a situation in which the demands on mental health professionals' time are at their peak, while their exposure to secondary traumatic stress is increased.” Stoycheva wrote that the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention warns that suicide risk for physicians (including psychiatrists) prior to COVID‐19 was 1.5 to 2.25 times higher than the general population. “… A combination of several factors, including exposure to traumatic stress, the mental health needs of society as a whole, and the unwritten code of ethics of healthcare workers, may compromise therapists' own mental health and ability to seek help. It may be time, then, for therapists who have not yet done so, to consider therapy.”