I Was Added to the Waitlist…Now What?

By Nik­ki Shields, LCPC, NCC
Clin­i­cal Coor­di­na­tor of Behav­ioral Health Therapy

If you’ve tried to sched­ule an appoint­ment with a ther­a­pist late­ly, you may have been dis­ap­point­ed to learn that instead of set­ting up an appoint­ment, you were added to a wait­list. Or maybe you were added to a wait­list sev­er­al weeks ago and still haven’t heard back about sched­ul­ing an appoint­ment. What’s the deal!?!

There has been a dra­mat­ic increase in refer­rals to men­tal health ser­vices relat­ed to COVID, result­ing in longer than nor­mal wait times for these ser­vices. The emo­tion­al toll of a world­wide pan­dem­ic is becom­ing more vis­i­ble. Anx­i­ety and stress are at an all-time high for many peo­ple as we con­tin­ue to nav­i­gate restric­tions, man­dates, quar­an­tines, and oth­er relat­ed changes out­side of our con­trol. Please know that we are work­ing dili­gent­ly to con­nect with each and every per­son that calls our office and we appre­ci­ate your patience dur­ing this process. We know that it is very frus­trat­ing to take the dif­fi­cult step of ask­ing for help and then being told you have to wait. Frus­trat­ing might not be a strong enough word.

Here’s the thing – we still want to help. We’ve com­piled some tips and strate­gies to help you get through this wait­ing period.

Seek Accu­rate Infor­ma­tion
You can find any­thing on the inter­net or social media these days but that does not mean it’s from a trust­wor­thy source. Here are a few web­sites where you can find accu­rate men­tal health infor­ma­tion and resources for all ages:

• helpguide​.org – research-based arti­cles writ­ten by experts on a vari­ety of health-relat­ed top­ics, espe­cial­ly emo­tion­al health
• kid​shealth​.org – arti­cles about a vari­ety of children’s health-relat­ed top­ics, some are even writ­ten for chil­dren and are avail­able in an audio format
• 211​.org – the web­site for the Unit­ed Way and a great way to find local resources

Journal/​Track Symp­toms
Jour­nal­ing and symp­tom track­ing are pow­er­ful men­tal health tools. Use an app on your mobile device or invest in a new note­book and start writ­ing things down. You can track symp­toms, vent about dif­fi­cult emo­tions, and record obser­va­tions of your behav­ior. All of this will be help­ful infor­ma­tion to have when you begin ther­a­py. Ideas for spe­cif­ic things to mon­i­tor: your symp­toms, when they occur, how severe they are, what trig­gers them, what makes them bet­ter, what makes them worse, sleep, food intake, and phys­i­cal activ­i­ty level.

Think about Your Goals for Ther­a­py
When you meet with a ther­a­pist, he or she will ask you a lot of ques­tions. One of the most impor­tant things you will be asked is what you want to get out of ther­a­py. Tak­ing some time to think about your goals and expec­ta­tions now will help you be pre­pared to answer these ques­tions in your first visit.

Make a List of Ques­tions for Your Ther­a­pist
Keep a list of ques­tions you want to ask when you meet with your ther­a­pist. This could include ques­tions about your symp­toms and treat­ment options or about the therapist’s approach and pro­fes­sion­al experience.

Com­mu­ni­cate with Fam­i­ly and Friends
Let those clos­est to you know you are wait­ing for men­tal health ser­vices and might need more sup­port for a lit­tle while. Try to keep in touch with peo­ple that have a pos­i­tive influ­ence in your life and engage in social activ­i­ties when pos­si­ble to reduce iso­la­tion while you are wait­ing to start therapy.

Stay in Con­tact with Your PCP
Be sure to let your doc­tor or pri­ma­ry care provider know that you are hav­ing a hard time and that you are wait­ing for a coun­sel­ing appoint­ment. He or she might have some ideas and will be able to answer ques­tions you might have about med­ica­tion or oth­er treat­ment options.

Take Care of Your Basic Needs

• Sleep is crit­i­cal to men­tal health. Set your sleep­ing area or bed­room up to be a sooth­ing and relax­ing space. Try to cre­ate a bed­time rou­tine where you go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
• Spend time out­side every day, even if only for a few min­utes. Nature is both sooth­ing and ener­giz­ing and we need vit­a­min D from the sun for gen­er­al wellness.
• Choose foods that have nutri­tion­al val­ue as often as you can. How you eat can def­i­nite­ly impact your mood and skip­ping meals can result in high­er lev­els of anx­i­ety for some people.
• Phys­i­cal activ­i­ty is one of the best ways to com­bat men­tal health symp­toms like depres­sion and anx­i­ety. Even if you can only com­mit to a quick 5‑minute walk, your brain and body will thank you.

Look for Sup­port Groups
Sup­port groups can be a great way to con­nect with oth­er peo­ple who are hav­ing sim­i­lar life dif­fi­cul­ties as you. Many sup­port groups are held vir­tu­al­ly which can make it eas­i­er to join and participate.

Con­sid­er Oth­er Options if Need­ed
We under­stand that some­times wait­ing is not in your best inter­est. If you feel you need to see some­one soon­er than what we can offer, there are oth­er providers in our area and there are many online/​telehealth options to choose from. Start by find­ing out your cov­er­age options with your health insur­ance or seek rec­om­men­da­tions from your PCP, friends, or fam­i­ly. You might be able to access coun­sel­ing or sup­port­ive ser­vices through your employ­ee assis­tance pro­gram or school. Speak with your HR or guid­ance coun­selor to find out more.

Devel­op a Safe­ty Plan
If your symp­toms include self-harm behav­iors, you may want to cre­ate a safe­ty plan with some­one you trust and let them know how they can help you stay safe dur­ing this time. There are apps and tem­plates avail­able online to help with safe­ty planning.

Seek Emer­gency Help if You are Expe­ri­enc­ing a Cri­sis
Untreat­ed men­tal health symp­toms can become a cri­sis. If you’re think­ing about hurt­ing your­self or some­one else or are feel­ing unsafe in any oth­er way, you need help imme­di­ate­ly. Please seek emer­gency assis­tance if you are in a men­tal health cri­sis. The Nation­al Sui­cide Pre­ven­tion Life­line is avail­able 24 hours a day at 800−273−8255.

Make Plans
Mak­ing future plans can help boost mood and opti­mism. Stay­ing busy and hav­ing some­thing to look for­ward to can help reduce depres­sion and increase feel­ings of hope. Plan a cof­fee date with a friend, plan a week­end trip, or just make a plan to watch your favorite movie with a friend or fam­i­ly member.

Try Med­i­ta­tion
Men­tal health symp­toms are exhaust­ing. Med­i­ta­tion is designed to help you take a break from all those thoughts and emo­tions bounc­ing around in your brain. Med­i­ta­tion apps teach you how to do this skill and pro­vide a vari­ety of options so you can find a prac­tice that works for you.

Lim­it Expo­sure to Social Media
Social media is the pri­ma­ry source of infor­ma­tion and men­tal stim­u­la­tion for many peo­ple today. We turn to it when we are bored, stressed, angry, or lone­ly. Take con­trol of your social media expe­ri­ence by set­ting time lim­its and tai­lor­ing your feed so you see more pos­i­tive and uplift­ing posts. You can unfol­low, block, leave groups, and alter sev­er­al dif­fer­ent set­tings so that social media does not con­tribute to your emo­tion­al distress.

We are work­ing to get you in as quick­ly as pos­si­ble and look for­ward to the oppor­tu­ni­ty to col­lab­o­rate with you on your well­ness jour­ney. We hope you will try a cou­ple of these ideas to make your wait more bear­able. We will be in touch with you soon!

To learn more about our Behav­ioral Health ser­vices, call us at (217) 222‑6550, ext. 3418.