Changes related to the novel coronavirus have created anxiety and upheaval for everyone. UCLA’s Staff and Faculty Counseling Center is available to provide free, short-term counseling and referrals to employees and their immediate family members or significant others to help them cope with or adjust to these changes.
Anxiety, depression, stress and fear are among the many natural reactions people may be experiencing right now. The center is on hand to support employees with these and other issues, such as challenges related to work-life balance, especially as employees adjust to working from home, perhaps while caring for and homeschooling their children.
Although in-person visits have been suspended due to the new coronavirus, the center provides counseling and referral services by phone during its usual hours, Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Employees can call 310-794-0245 to schedule an appointment. Counseling is free, voluntary and confidential. The center is working to offer counseling in an online video format soon.
More details about the center’s services are available on the Staff and Faculty Counseling Center’s website. English- and Spanish-speaking male and female counselors are ready to help.
“This may be the first time many people have felt like they are truly in danger, and talking about it with a counselor can help,” said Nanette Levine-Mann, co-director of the center. “These stressful times elicit feelings of fear, uncertainty, loss of control, disruption and isolation, and the Staff and Faculty Counseling Center can help with that.”
UCLA’s health care employees, who remain at work, are facing the extraordinary challenge of protecting their own personal safety and that of their families while still serving patients, Levine-Mann noted. Emotional support specific to their situation is also available.