The covid-19 pandemic is causing almost everyone anxiety. But for therapy clients who were already anxious, it’s making symptoms much worse. Therapist and author Jonah Paquette shares the two biggest things he’s doing to help them.
As Jonah mentions, two of the biggest things therapists can do for clients anxious about the pandemic is to normalize and validate what they’re feeling. From there, he adds, you can help them develop concrete strategies to regain a sense of agency, and even grow and make meaning from the anxiety they’re experiencing.
Jonah Paquette
Jonah Paquette, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, speaker, and author. He is the author of Real Happiness: Proven Paths for Contentment, Peace, and Well-Being (PESI, 2015), a research-based self-help book in which he distills the key findings in the fields of happiness, and offers user-friendly tools to achieve lasting well-being. His second book, The Happiness Toolbox (PESI, 2018), offers readers an array of easy-to-use handouts and exercises designed to enhance happiness in a lasting way. Dr. Paquette is a psychologist and Clinical Training Director for Kaiser Permanente in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he oversees the mental health training programs across four medical centers.
Zachary Taylor
Zach Taylor, MA, LPC, is the former director of Psychotherapy Networker. He’s interviewed the field’s top experts and hosted the annual Psychotherapy Networker Symposium. Prior to his time at Psychotherapy Networker, he spent 10 years in practice specializing in anxiety and panic disorders.
