By Molly Schiffer, LCPC, Center for OCD and Anxiety, Sheppard Pratt As a kid, one of my favorite things about going back to school was the back-to-school shopping. Aisles filled with brightly colored notebooks, folders, and backpacks, shiny and new. The idea of “back to school” did not just signal a new school year, it also signaled a new year, regardless of whether you had kids in school or not. But COVID-19 has altered our return to school. Even though TV commercials are still advertising flashy back-to-school sales, the feeling of excitement and enthusiasm about the new school year has […]
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT – You Are So Beautiful
By Dr. Terri Griffith What do you like about your body? As the clinical coordinator for Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Eating Disorders, that’s a question I often ask my patients to begin the process of helping them shift the narrative they tell themselves about their own bodies. For some patients, it might be difficult to acknowledge something they like about their bodies. So sometimes the question has to be changed to, “What are you okay with about your body” or even “What can you tolerate about your body?” Go ahead and reflect on your own body image and think about […]
Open Letter from the BHT Foundation
As we enter into PRIDE month, we find ourselves torn between a desire to celebrate the history, freedom, and the beauty of our LGBTQ+ communities; and tears of pain and sorrow as we see our country systematically oppress and murder our black and brown communities. 2020 is, by no means, a “normal” year. Yet, if there is one small piece of hope, it may be that this country’s systemic, institutional, pervasive racism is on display for the world to see. It cannot be ignored, and more white people are beginning to learn about their own participation in this racist system. It is not […]
Larry Kramer, Pioneering AIDS Provocateur, Dies
Larry Kramer, whose take-no-prisoners rhetoric defined the early period of AIDS activism, died May 27th. He was 84. According to Kramer’s husband, David Webster, he died from pneumonia. Kramer had contended with health problems for much of his adult life, including HIV, liver disease, and a successful liver transplant. “Larry helped keep us focused,” Rob Folan-Johnson of ACT UP told Baltimore OUTloud. “His anger was infectious and damned useful. If he hadn’t been at that meeting at rhe Gay and Lesbian Center that night to declare that an organized political force was needed to fight for our lives and against […]
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT – BIG (Baltimore Pride) Feeling
As an educator in the mental health field, a lot of my professional dialog ends up being about feelings. Big feelings, little feelings, hidden feelings, reactionary feelings. We feel them, we handle them, we empower students to understand them. The hardest feelings to navigate are the ones that bombard us and feel unfair to us, like they have been dumped onto us, especially ones triggered by an event that we have no control over… like a global pandemic. Loneliness, grief, insecurity, stress, restlessness, and fear (just to name a few) have found homes within us the last few months. All […]
Resources for Trans Youth in Isolation
By Dr. Elyse Pine The LGBT Health Resource Center Being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic is tough for everybody, but for gender diverse and transgender youth, it can be even harder. For some people, home is a very affirming and safe place. But for others, it may be a place where your name, pronouns, and gender identity are not respected. The people you live with may not even know your name and pronouns, and it may not be a safe space to share it yet. Hearing a deadname and being misgendered can feel like a form of violence and can add stress […]
Mental Health Moment – COVID-19 and Anxiety
By Jon Hershfield, MFT Director, OCD and Anxiety Center, Sheppard Pratt COVID-19 is a hurricane of uncertainties. How it appeared, how it behaves, how we stay safe from it, and how long it’s going to be a burden on the world are all mired in mystery. While fear is how our bodies respond to danger we can clearly identify, anxiety is how our bodies respond to the more confusing, abstract potential threats we imagine in the future. Both experiences are the body’s normal biological strategy to help keep us safe. Our heart rate goes up for energy in case we […]
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT
April is Substance Abuse Awareness Month By Jason Martin LCPC, CPRP, NCC, ACS This April is Substance Abuse Awareness Month. The current COVID-19 crisis, with its anxiety-inducing headlines and fear of the unknown, is especially difficult for individuals using substances or recovering addicts. These situations can put recovering addicts at risk for relapse, or users at risk for an overdose. Now more than ever, we want to use this national awareness month as a rally point to educate the community about resources available for individuals struggling with substance use. Seek Professional Services There are a number of services available in […]
Resources for LGBT Emotional Support During Pandemic Isolation
Photo Cutline: Randall Leonard, LCSW-C (left) and Kate Bishop, MSSA (right). By Kate Bishop, MSSA, and Randall Leonard, LCSW-C Beloved community, what a bizarre period of history we find ourselves in. No one currently alive has ever experienced a global health crisis of this magnitude. Stumbling through a wrenching learning curve that has been called a “slow-motion collective trauma,” every person on Earth could probably use some emotional care right now. Every person on Earth includes you, friend. Due to underlying health disparities, employment inequities, and prejudice-related mental health stressors, LGBTQ people are especially vulnerable in this crisis. As the pandemic […]
The Pride Center of Maryland During a Pandemic
The Pride Center of Maryland is doing its level best to stay connected to the community and to help the growing needs of our community during these unprecedented times. It is true we do live in one of the richest countries in the world and yet this virus is shining a spot light on the many flaws we still have to fix. Namely, we need better safety nets to protect the people of this country. Maryland, as a State, is doing an exceptional job in trying to mitigate the economic impact that we are all currently facing. For instance, unemployment […]