By Steven Krolak
(NEW ALBANY, Ind.)–In a time of extreme social disruption, students across the country are working hard to complete their academic year.
For some IU Southeast students, the Covid-19 pandemic is both a disruption and an opportunity to respond to the needs of others in the community.
EmilyKuprianczyk ’16 is working towards a Masters in Mental Health Counseling. She isalso working as a family support specialist at the New Albany office of Centerstone,a nationwide provider of a broad range of mental health counseling services.
Ona normal day, she deliverstherapy, life skills, and case management services to children andtheir families in school settings, in particular Hazelwood MiddleSchool and Clarksville High School. She meets with each of her clients roughlyonce each week.
Covid-19has changed all that.
Herwork has shifted online, as she now offers support to clients and theirfamilies through telephone calls, video chats, emails and other modalities ofwhat is known as telehealth services.
“Muchof the work I find myself doing right now is helping my clientsdevelop coping skills, life skills, manage self-care, and working toensure that each family is staying as safe as possible,” Kuprianczyk said.
Itis challenging work.
“Most individuals in ourcommunity are struggling to cope with employment, financial and educationalchanges,” said Dr. Kimberly LaFollette, assistant professor of psychology and directorof the Masters in Mental Health Counseling program at IU Southeast. “Theserapid, uncontrollable changes lead to stress, and increased stress leads to anincrease in mental health disorders.”
Theseare the shifting realities that Kuprianczyk encounters on a daily basis.
“Moreoften than not, I am seeing many of my clients and families struggling toadjust to the change due to job loss, parents working from homewhile providing home schooling to their kiddos, loss of socialinteraction, and just the general stress of staying safe during thepandemic,” Kuprianczyk said.
ForLaFollette, the physical and economic toll of the pandemic can easilyovershadow its impact on mental health, with serious consequences.
“Mental health is oftenoverlooked as it is not always seen as an important part of overall health,”LaFollette said. “During this time many individuals are focused on maintainingphysical health and financial security and mental health is put on the backburner.”
In addition, stigmasabout reaching out for help persist.
Yet precisely in suchtimes, when face-to-face counseling might lapse due to restrictions on socialcontact, it is more necessary than ever to help individuals and families identifyskills that help them cope with hardship.
Kuprianczyk and othersin the Masters in Mental Health Counseling program who are delivering servicesonline are making sure that the crucial bonds between individuals and their mentalhealth support system remain intact.
For LaFollette, thiscontinuity is an important component of the master’s program.
“The Masters in Mental HealthCounseling program and its students are committed to the health and well-beingof those in our community even during the most trying times,” LaFollette said.“While our students are facing their own educational, health and financialstruggles they continue to work toward reaching out to the most vulnerablemembers of our community to ensure their safety and well-being.”
Aschallenging as the situation is, Kuprianczyk is gratified to see her clientsworking hard to support one another, and is motivated to be part of thatprocess.
“I am so thankful that I am able to be available to my clients and their families to help them get through these difficult times,” Kuprianczyk said. “The more our community can stand together, the stronger we will be when this is all over.”
Homepage photo: Emily Kuprianczyk receives her undergraduate diploma from IU Southeast Chancellor Dr. Ray Wallace.