WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 20, 2022 3
Ridgewood mental health clinic noticed rise in clients as COVID-19 rates soared
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
As COVID-19 rates dramatically rose
throughout New York City during
and aft er the holiday season, two
Ridgewood-based clinical therapists
noticed the same trend with their client
lists.
Lauren Urban has been a therapist for
about 15 years, and recently opened Get
Right Wellness in Ridgewood, which is
a local business aimed at providing accessible
and aff ordable mental health
services for the community. Urban has
been a private practice therapist for
many years, but said this is the busiest
she’s ever been.
“It sounds like a good thing, but as a
therapist you don’t want to ever turn
anyone away and I feel like I’ve had to
turn a lot of people away and it’s a completely
new problem,” Urban said.
Urban explained that the fi rst few
months of the pandemic, back in 2020,
she lost clients. But then aft er about four
months, she noticed people prioritizing
mental health.
“I think people back then were just
scared about fi nances and being able to
pay their bills,” Urban said. “Then in May
or June of 2020, the dust settled and folks
realized the pandemic wasn’t going to be
over in the three to six months everyone
was predicting.”
Urban said the most recent spike in
COVID-19 cases brought a new wave of
people looking for therapy. In the last
month or so, Urban said she, alone, has
had three or four new people call looking
for a therapist. Overall, Get Right
Wellness has had about 20 inquiries
since the omicron surge in December.
“It seems like every kind of phase of
the pandemic brings a new group of
outreach, a new phase of people trying
to fi gure out how to deal with whatever
is coming up for them,” Urban said.
Urban runs Get Right Wellness
with Jessica LaHood, who is also a
psychotherapist. The space houses multiple
private-practice psychotherapists
and hosts different wellness classes
weekly.
LaHood also said that she has seen
a sustained increase in the need for
mental health services throughout the
pandemic, including the most recent
surge in cases.
“This newest surge is hitting people
especially hard because it brings up this
fear that the pandemic will be endless,
and that we won’t be able to get back to
the life that felt normal pre-pandemic,”
LaHood said. “I’m also hearing about a lot
of loss of hope and expectations for how
life would change for the better once
vaccines were readily accessible, which
is such a signifi cant loss for all of us.”
On top of a feeling of hopelessness, Urban
said her clients are feeling the symptoms
of burnout, which can be described
as a condition experienced by workers
and other professionals, in which they
develop depression-like symptoms as a
result of aspects of their role.
Urban said that these issues their
clients face are all very understandable
and natural as the pandemic demands
us all to constantly adapt to changing
circumstances. One way Urban and her
colleagues help their clients is practicing
mindfulness, as well as working hard to
fi nd small moments of joy to be thankful
for.
Ridgewood-based therapists notice rise in client inquiries as COVID-19
cases surge. Photo courtesy of Get Right Wellness
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