COUNSELLING psychologist and CEO of The Phoenix Counselling Centre, Dr Patrece Charles is imploring Jamaicans to be their ‘brother’s keeper’, especially to the vulnerable population, as the country grapples with the community spread of COVID-19.

Dr Charles made the call during an interview with the Jamaica Observer regarding the psychological impact COVID-19 has been having on children, young adults and the elderly.

“We need to look out for certain red flags with our co-workers. Those co-workers working continuously without taking a break. Those co-workers that have drastic mood swings and respond in a very exaggerated way to incidents at work — impulsiveness, anger – it could be a sign of post-traumatic stress due to COVID-19. It could be a sign of depression — co-workers that are not turning up to work on time and so I think in this time for COVID-19 we need to start just not looking out for ourselves, but looking out for each other,” Dr Charles said.

She added: “As difficult as it may be, if you have your parents and grandparents and you can do the bill payment and supermarket run for them, do so. It is too close to home now to not take serious. The younger population has a responsibility. If you have an elderly neighbour and no one is assisting, go and find out if they need help.”

Further, amid concerns of the mental health impact COVID-19 is having on the population, Dr Charles said depending on the impact, there is no clear-cut manifestation and so, awareness on mental health issues is necessary now more than ever.

“Depression presents itself in different ways based on the development stage of the individual. Children and teenagers don’t necessarily curl up in bed in the dark. They get very aggressive sometimes, they get very impulsive, and it’s usually interpreted as misbehaviour when the truth is they are depressed and the way that they are handled just pushes them further into depression. Look out for signs such as cutting, lack of appetite, overeating, extreme mood changes,” she said.

“In the elderly, just ask, ‘Are you okay?’. Sometimes all you need to do is give a listening ear because again this is not business as usual. It is not normal times, so how we process it is a learning process. Look out for red flags and protect yourself as best as possible with wearing your mask, your PPE and using your hand sanitiser. If you can wash your hands frequently, do so,” Dr Charles said.

Meanwhile, Dr Charles told the Sunday Observer that for children, youth and young adults, coping has been challenging and very different.

“The younger the child is they are used to playing with their friends, having play dates, going to school and having face-to-face contact. Everything is now online for the most part and so they are losing that social interaction, that face-to-face interaction. Some of them feel sad about not being able to see their friends in the way that they are used to…Another thing that creates a lot of anxiety and frustration for children because of COVID-19 is the online classes. Not everyone can do online classes and there are children that are struggling with focusing because some schools have 100 or 200 kids online in classes and so it is difficult for them to focus.

“It’s also difficult for them to create that mindset that this is a classroom setting. So I have been encouraging parents to create a new routine where they get up as if they are going to school,” Dr Charles said. “This form of hybrid education where you are going to be in school and online, it is bringing some form of anxiety, but again with more information as to how to protect yourself, social distance and wearing your mask, it lessens it but we have to be real. The younger the child, the less likely they are to keep on a mask all day so parents have to be very mindful of that. Practice wearing the mask at home so they get used to wearing the mask for an extended period of time so that when they go to school, they are not learning on the job how to wear a mask and surviving throughout the day.”

For youth, Dr Charles said she has had to encourage them to find the positives from doing online classes.

“I have a lot of med students and dental students and the struggle is whether to go in and do clinics. I have to tell them that they have the opportunity to expand and reach patients by actually learning how to do their clinical history online. You can learn how to see a patient online, so you can help doctor that is in Africa. That’s the direction medicine is going in anyway. It’s just helping them to change their perception and to find the positive and how to benefit from doing online studies,” she said.

Among young adults, the counselling psychologist said there has been an increase in panic and guilt among the group over job losses, pay cuts and the inability to provide for their families. Subsequently, she has had to be encouraging those she sees to get creative and think of new revenue streams.

“I have been encouraging them to focus on what it is that they need to do and not what it is that they don’t have. So this is the time where we have to get creative, this is the time where we step outside of our comfort zone and see if there is something we can change with regard to making an income. I use myself as an example. I have an active counselling centre and I have had to move all my clients online. It turns out that they prefer to be online so I am now completely full doing online counselling. It’s really just helping them to understand how to switch it up a little bit and ensure they can survive being online,” she said.