** Update as of 3/23/20: Our office is currently closed. We are offering online, telehealth, sessions on our secure client portal. We are also accepting new clients!**
**We are offering a COVID19 Assistance Program for qualifying recipients due an increased demand for mental health support and increased financial uncertainty during this time.**
As the news surrounding COVID-19 (the disease caused by the coronavirus) evolves, the main priorities of all of our clinicians at Skylight Counseling Services remain the same — to walk alongside our clients in optimizing their overall wellbeing.
There is a lot of information about there about COVID-19 and/or the coronavirus. Skylight Counseling Services does not take the position of providing medical advice; therefore, to educate yourself, please visit the following links:
- Florida Department of Public Health
- Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Telehealth & Insurance company policies:
How Skylight Counseling Services is adapting:
Due to recent events and increasing concerns about COVID-19, please remember, telehealth sessions are a healthy alternative to an office visit. Please factor in your understanding of your unique health needs and the needs of your loved ones when deciding whether to pursue office versus telehealth visits. At this time, it appears all insurance plans are moving to covering telehealth without any barriers, even if not initially a plan benefit. Please call your insurance provider and/or reach out to Mandy or Alyssa for any plan specific concerns.
Additional precautionary measures Skylight Counseling Services is taking for the office:
- After each session, your clinician is spraying the office with disinfecting spray for soft surfaces
- After each session, your clinician is wiping hard surfaces with disinfecting wipes (including the office door handles)
- Disinfecting wipes, disinfecting spray, and hand sanitizer is available to each client to use in office
- Restrooms have disinfecting hand soap and paper towels available for use
- All staff is following the 20 second guideline for hand washing
What Skylight Counseling Services is asking of clients:
- If you are doing any domestic or international travel—inform your clinician
Based on the safety level of your destination, you may be asked to not come to your appointments in person and transition to online sessions for two weeks.
- If anyone in your close circle of friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors have traveled domestically or internationally—inform your clinician
Based on the safety level of the destination, you may be asked to not come to your appointments in person and transition to online sessions for two weeks.
- If, at any point, there is a quarantine impacting your clinician, the office of Skylight Counseling Services, and/or your neighborhood, all visits will occur online.
For those unwilling to meet online in these time-limited circumstances, the cancellation policy will apply.
How to manage the stress of COVID-19:
- Step back from social media and news outlets
- Use the opportunity in session to speak to your clinician about the balance between productive versus unproductive worry
- Speak to your medical provider about ways to manage your personal risk
- Typically, fewer individuals ride the first or last car on public transit which may help minimize risk
- Balance the use of hand sanitizer with the use of lotion, disinfecting wipes, and disinfecting spray to minimize pain and dryness in hands
- A really helpful infographic about the realities of coronavirus can be found here:
In closing:
There is no right or wrong way to feel about COVID-19. If you have a low level of concern, you are not under-reacting; and, if you are concerned and taking precautions and/or cancelling travel, you are not overreacting. If at any point between sessions you notice a level of fear or anxiety that is concerning to you or difficult to manage, please reach out through the client portal or by phone or by contacting us HERE.
With Kindness,
Alyssa Buchanan, LCSW
Chief Vision Officer
Skylight Counseling Services
(321) 608-0604 | info@skylightcounselingservices.com