For one Alcoholics Anonymous member named Michael, who by group rules only went by his first name, the social distancing because of the coronavirus, he believes, could have negative effects on his friends struggling to stay sober.
“I’m worried about new members because face-to-face contact is so important when you’re new,” said Michael, who is 46 years sober. “When you’re fresh in sobriety you rely on fellowship.”
Alcoholics Anonymous in Austin, along with other local group therapy organizations like GT Therapy and Austin Center for Grief and Loss, have now switched to online versions of their weekly meetings.
However, many individuals who participated in group therapy before the pandemic began say online groups lack the intimacy they are used to receiving, according to health officials. And many have opted to stop therapy altogether following the mandatory stay-at-home orders.
Regardless, group therapy leaders across Austin say they expect to see a rapid rise in online group therapy memberships in the coming weeks as residents struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues learn to cope with self-isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The reality is it’s not the same thing as being in-person,” said Karen Ranus, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Central Texas. “Isolation can be very challenging for folks, even those who are in the best mental state. While it’s not the same, we are encouraging people to still use the technology to get the help they need.”
Blake Howard Norton, co-owner of GT Therapy in Austin, said that while those who previously participated in group therapy might have stopped treatment the first few weeks of the pandemic, she along with Ranus expect to see a rapid rise in online group membership as patients get used to “the new normal.”
“The timing of this is interesting because it happened over spring break, so it gave people the illusion of normalcy,” Howard Norton said. “Now, it is hitting people how serious this is.”
Nikki Hempe, a University of Texas doctorate student who helps lead a mental health peer group with the National Association of Mental Illness in Central Texas, said she has yet to continue her own personal therapy, nor begin hosting online peer support groups for others since the Austin area began seeing cases of COVID-19, the disease linked to the coronavirus.
Hempe said she, along with the other peer facilitators, are working to adjust to the changes themselves, but said they plan to begin groups again online next week.
“We are anticipating quite a lot of questions, anxieties and emotions around the isolation when we restart our groups,” Hempe said. “Now that it has been three or four weeks, I think there will be a demand and need to talk through some of those anxieties.”
Howard Norton said it appears to be younger patients who have already acclimated to online therapy and are now helping their parents and grandparents get used to virtual health care.
“All of a sudden, we have grandparents using TikTok,” Howard Norton said of the social media app that lets user make short videos. “Our teens really rely on peer connection, so they are utilizing all of these online resources in really lovely ways and are teaching the adults how to get connected.”
While the majority of therapists have transitioned to virtual meetings because of the pandemic, some are still risking their own health for patients who better benefit from in-person meetings.
Allison Chase, a therapist with Eating Recovery Center in Austin, said while her organization shifted 40 of its patients to online therapy, not all of them were healthy enough for the transition.
“We are continuing to run in-person programming for our patients who have higher mental or psychological needs,” Chase said. “Medically, they are not as stable throughout the day without support. For those who we don’t feel are going to be able to keep themselves healthy, we do still have them come in.”
And for Michael from Alcoholics Anonymous, he said if virtual accountability fails, he will be the first to knock on a member’s door to help them through a crisis.
“I’ve already been alive a lot longer than I was supposed to be, so I’ll go to someone’s house and help them get sober,” Michael said, specifying his words are his own and not on behalf of the organization. “I’m not afraid to get out on the front lines and help anybody new.
“I’m worried about how many people we will lose because of this, but we will come out on the other side.”
CORONAVIRUS IN TEXAS: What we know, latest updates
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