covid-19

05/11/2020

How to Reduce Stress and Serve During COVID-19

In this video, Dr. Mallory Wines, assistant professor for the School of Counseling, defines "pandemic," outlines the current orders in place, and explains what U.S. residents are being asked to do, such as teleworking, using telemedicine and practicing social distancing. She also provides tips on how to effectively respond to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as:
  • learning about the symptoms and being self-aware
  • allowing yourself and your family time to recover
  • doing self-care activities
  • asking for help
  • staying physically and mentally healthy
  • maintaining a daily routine and coordinating schedules with family members
  • staying connected with other people
  • setting a work schedule and dedicated work space
  • establishing boundaries (work time versus personal time)
She also shares ways to lend a helping hand to the community by helping the elderly get groceries/medications, making face masks, donating blood, and assisting food banks with packaging or distribution of food. Speaker Bio Dr. Wines has been a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Ohio since 2011, providing behavioral health services to various populations including children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. She specializes in working with trauma, PTSD, mood disorders, and childhood disorders. A majority of her clinical work has been in outpatient mental health centers, school settings, and in-home services. She has experience teaching in a graduate counseling and school psychology program, and supervising masters level counselors-in-training and therapeutic support staff. Her research interests include PTSD, trauma-exposure, vicarious traumatization, and posttraumatic growth. Sign up to learn more about Divine Mercy University's graduate degree programs in psychology and counseling.

04/06/2020

How COVID-19 is impacting mental health

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, it is likely that someone you know has been silently dealing with anxiety or has experienced a panic attack. However, do they feel comfortable enough to share this information with you? Do they feel that you are educated enough about mental health? If you didn’t answer “yes” to these questions, get the tools you need. Just like a life-or-death emergency that can be immediately saved through the touch of a life alert button, a mental ailment can be rescued through the listening ear and intellectual guidance of a psychology expert. Why wait until COVID-19 clears the air and you’re back into your regular, busy routine? Start your Master’s in Psychology this summer cohort (beginning on May 20th) to serve as a resource to your local community and the world at-large. You may be wondering if an entire master’s degree is essential for just a few people you may know that needs healing, but the data shows otherwise. According to Mental Health America, a U.S. community-based non-profit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness, there was “a 19 percent increase in screening for clinical anxiety in the first weeks of February, and a 12 percent increase in the first two weeks of March.” Similarly, an article published on Bloomberg.com reports that Talkspace, a chat and video therapy service, has seen a 65% increase in customers since mid-February. Wondering how you can help the world right now during such uncertain times? Change can be accomplished through the power of your mind. Start your application today to gain a new set of tools for yourself and help others heal from their suffering. Visit the Master's in Psychology program page to learn more about the curriculum, application requirements and more.
About DMU
Divine Mercy University (DMU) is a Catholic graduate university of psychology and counseling programs. It was founded in 1999 as the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. The university offers a Master of Science (M.S.) in Psychology, Master of Science (M.S.) in Counseling, Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology, and Certificate Programs.