SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Mental health professionals are doing everything they can to stay abreast on the methods to combat domestic violence.
Licensed Psychotherapist/Pastoral Counselor, Michael Heath provides virtual counseling services and has an area expertise in conflict and abuse.
“The convenience factor is really terrific because sometimes I would have people traveling hundreds of miles to get to see me for a session and that was really a major impact on their scheduling,” Heath said.
Telehealth counseling allows clients to maintain a growing rapport with Heath, regardless of vacations, re-locations and lack of transportation.
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Heath says there has been an increased need for counseling and support navigating life’s challenges.
“Covid is the perfect example where life just, out of nowhere created hardship, made life very stressful and it’s not because the person themselves is mentally disturbed,” Heath said.”It’s just, life itself can become overwhelming.”
With over forty years of experience counseling others, Heath incorporates religion into his web-based counseling sessions.
“In times when life is overwhelming, it can be really helpful for people who have and come from a religious tradition, have sacred scriptures that they can turn to, to be able to knowledgeable to help people bridge psychological issues with issues of faith is really helpful for each person that comes from a religious tradition,” Heath said. “It helps remind them of the resources they have in their faith.”
Contrary to remote counseling services, Vera House, a non-profit organization for domestic violence and abuse victims launched a NEW Support Live Web system.
Prison Rape Elimination Project Coordinator, Nilieka Brown advocates for victims by offering support online.
Brown and her colleagues discovered an increasing number of people looking for abuse counseling, virtually, within the last year.
Vera House provides confidential support online, especially for victims that are unable to make phone calls or email around an abuser.
“When we say it’s encrypted, that means that when communicating with us, there’s a QUICK ESCAPE button that you can press,” Brown said. “And when you press that quick escape button, it will automatically close out anything that related to the topic that you were discussing.”
The end-to-end encrypting provides peace of mind to victims, knowing their stories are confidential amongst the support staff and are protected from abuse.
Today, Brown is also partnering with correctional facilities in an effort to help eliminate gang rape and domestic violence behind prison walls.
