The pandemic has been referred to as a pandemic with multiple crises occurring at the same time – public health, economic and social justice. The need for courage, caring and compassion collided with COVID-19 in a year like no other. This novel collision and compounding of events have not left a soul or being untouched, unaffected or unscathed. To make matters worse, the political wars added another layer of harm impacting relationships that were already strained due to social and physical isolation due to the CDC guidelines to manage the public health crisis.
Burnout, personal loss, grief, anxiety and stress in various degrees cloaked collective American psyches with little to no reprieve. People that had to work experienced anxiety over getting sick and risking death. Others had to stay home due to telecommuting, being furloughed or terminated from employment. The convergence of COVID and the epidemic of multiple stressors caused parallel pandemics. The very public and brutal murder of George Floyd sparked a collective outrage across the country during a lockdown that forced us to watch this ghastly recurrence of police brutality on a loop. The lockdown also forced parents to suddenly home school children of all ages creating another layer of stress, frustration and in some cases, anger.
Post-COVID Stress Disorder (PCSD). Emerging literature measures the impact of various traumatic stressors related to COVID-19, as well as the effects of less severe types of stress exposures. COVID-19 has already led to diverse mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other trauma- and stress-related disorders. Different groups have met the qualifying criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to DSM-5 as a result of the pandemic: those who have themselves suffered from serious COVID-19 illness and potential death; individuals who, as family members and health care workers, have witnessed others’ suffering and death; individuals who have learned about the death or risk of death of a family member or friend due to the virus; and individuals who have experienced extreme exposure to aversive details (eg, journalists, first responders, medical examiners, and hospital personnel). It is estimated that there are millions of Americans suffering from PCSD that are undiagnosed and untreated. This is evidenced by the increase in suicides, overdoses, drinking and other societal ills compared to pre-pandemic statistics.
Coaching. Coaches had to shift to a virtual paradigm after being on hold during the initial response and reaction to the lockdown with businesses struggling and, in some cases, shutting down. Virtual coaching is the predominant modality to reach clients but we are all different and forever changed from this experience. After all, coaches are people too and are not immune from the effects of the pandemic. Concepts of self-regulation, interoception, establishing therapeutic relationships, utilizing a holistic approach and cognitive restructuring and positive expectancy are needed for today’s coaching clientele. In other words, the overarching theme for today’s coaching is to empower clients to manage yourself versus managing the environment and focusing on what you have power and control over.
Learning Objectives
The audience will:
1) Learn and recognize effects of Post COVID Stress and symptoms
2) Understand the impact of PCSD on the coaching relationship and continued engagement
3) Learn the relationship between coaching principles and the principles of Cognitive Restructuring.
4) Learn concepts of self-regulation, interoception and exposure narrative along with other techniques to support the post pandemic coaching client
.75 Core, .75 RD CCEs
Speaker: Dr. Katie Boston-Leary
Katie Boston-Leary is a trained executive coach with training from the College of Executive Coaching and the John Maxwell Coaching Program. She is DISC certified and provides coaching to doctoral students, graduates from the Stanford University’s “What’s Next?” Course and Luminus Health’s LEAD Academy graduates. She redesigned the Nurse Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland with an embedded coaching program Katie is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She is also a certified clinical trauma professional which focuses n Trauma, PTSD, Grief and Loss
