Counseling Practice During Phases of a Pandemic Virus. Mark A. Stebnicki

the path forward to overall health and well-being. The mental, behavioral, psychosocial, and medical/physical health of the individual at Level 3 is demonstrated by the following.

Mental Health

      Person is resilient, with a moderate degree of psychological adjustment in dealing with critical life events and major life stressors (e.g., job loss, the death of a family member, divorce, personal illness, injury, disease, disability). Person delays taking therapeutic responsibility for any mental health symptoms and conditions, and they do not respond as promptly as individuals at Level 4. Person demonstrates positive optimism and a good balance of mood, emotion, affect, and rational thinking, but not to the same degree as persons at Level 4. Person can handle daily life stressors with good coping and resiliency skills. Person transitions adequately through the phases of a pandemic disaster, cultivating somewhat new meaning, personal growth, hardiness, and self-care, although not as skillfully as Level 4 individuals.

      Behavioral Health

      Person has a well-balanced life and maintains a somewhat healthy routine of virus-related hygiene habits, occasionally following public health guidelines. Person has respect for self and others concerning social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and other good virus hygiene but makes some exceptions to good virus hygiene when interacting in public places. Person engages in exercise but on an irregular basis, has somewhat good nutritional intake, struggles at times with healthy patterns of sleep and rest, maintains virus-adjusted recreational activities, and exhibits good overall daily functioning. Person is perceived by self and others to be focused, motivated, and goal oriented. They are observed by others taking personal responsibility for living in positive optimism, although they struggle more than Level 4 individuals. Person demonstrates good interpersonal communication skills. They exhibit empathetic concern for others sometimes. They are somewhat action oriented, are somewhat a contributor, but have a defined independent ideology as opposed to a collectivist lifestyle.

Psychosocial Health

      Person has good functioning in a wide range of life areas, such as academics, job, career, and economic stability. Person exhibits good social and familial connections. Person is self-motivated and sometimes engages in organized activities such as clubs, organizations, religious/spiritual life, and recreational activities. Person has a good balance of home, work, academics, and social life. Person exhibits good adaptation and adjustment to a pandemic disaster despite any personal medical, physical, psychological, behavioral, financial, or occupational challenges or challenges with independent living, environmental functioning, and/or functional capacity.

      Medical/Physical Health

      Person is medically and functionally stable and can take care of any existing medical/physical health conditions. Regardless of illness, disease, or disability, they take personal responsibility for their medical, physical, behavioral, mental, and psychosocial health by using support systems, resources, and technology to live life in optimal wellness.

      Level 2 = Fair Resiliency

      Level 2 individuals have fair mental, behavioral, and psychosocial health. The individual has very little respect for the seriousness, lethality, and consequences of a pandemic virus. They are generally compliant with virus hygiene protocols such as wearing a mask, washing their hands, and keeping a distance but only in social situations that mandate this. Level 2 individuals imply “I won’t live my life in fear of a virus.” Thus, there is some minimization of the seriousness, lethality, and consequences of a pandemic virus. Individuals at Level 2 do not view good virus hygiene practices as totally necessary and do not totally endorse adherence to public health guidelines for the protection of themselves and others through immunization. Individuals at Level 2 may experience and react with irrational fear and anxiety; however, this is directed more toward their changing environment, which they do not understand, recognize, or feel they have control over because of a pandemic disaster. Individuals at Level 2 are more affected by trigger events (e.g., media reporting of positive COVID-19 cases, COVID-related illnesses and deaths, school and workplace closures) and form their pandemic ideology based on events that may or may not directly impact their lives. Clinically significant psychological/emotional symptoms and conditions are not dealt with in a therapeutic manner, and therapeutic interventions are resisted. The individual does not exhibit stress-hardy behaviors. It may take them longer to bounce back from adversity compared to individuals at Level 3. Individuals at Level 2 do not endorse public health principles, practices, guidelines, and government mandates associated with a pandemic disaster. They view good virus hygiene and adherence to public health guidelines as nonessential to the protection of themselves and others. They do not recognize the importance of public health guidance and government mandates. Thus, persons at Level 2 take many more virus hygiene risks than persons at Level 3. Individuals at Level 2 struggle with balance, adaptation, and adjustment in relation to their changing pandemic environment. They typically do not have the capacity to respond to the grief, loss, and extraordinary stressful and/or traumatic events associated with a pandemic virus because they are much too internally focused on their unhealthy thoughts, feelings, and cognitions. Persons at Level 2 struggle with balancing the reality of a pandemic disaster with other life responsibilities. They cannot move forward because of life circumstances related to their medical, physical, and mental health conditions. Persons at Level 2 also have academic, job, career, relational, financial, and other hardships that may be beyond their control. Their overall mental and physical well-being is compromised by their inability to cope with adversity. Persons at Level 2 find very little meaning in their existence and find it difficult to gain relief during phases of a pandemic disaster. Adjustment and adaptation to the overall effects of a pandemic virus are difficult for persons at Level 2 because they struggle with a path forward to overall health and well-being. The mental, behavioral, psychosocial, and medical/physical health of the individual at Level 2 is demonstrated by the following.

Mental Health

      Person has few resiliency skills and a significant degree of psychological adjustment in dealing with critical life events and major life stressors (e.g., job loss, the death of a family member, divorce, personal illness, injury, disease, disability). Person avoids taking therapeutic responsibility for any mental health symptoms and conditions. Person struggles with positive optimism and balancing mood, emotion, affect, and rational thinking. Person cannot handle daily life stressors with the degree of coping and resiliency skills such as seen in Level 3 individuals. Person does not transition well through the phases of a pandemic disaster. They have considerable difficulty cultivating new meaning, personal growth, and hardiness, and self-care is significantly deficient.

      Behavioral Health

      Person does not have a well-balanced life but maintains a healthy routine of virus-related hygiene habits. Person has little awareness of respect for self and others concerning social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and other good virus hygiene habits. Person does not engage in regular exercise or recreational activities. Nutritional intake is inconsistent with most dietary standards. They demonstrate unhealthy patterns of sleep and rest, have poor virus-related hygiene, and exhibit only a fair ability to maintain overall daily functioning. They are not perceived by themselves and others to be focused, motivated, or goal oriented. They are observed by others as not taking personal responsibility for living in positive optimism and struggle significantly more than Level 3 individuals. Person demonstrates only fair interpersonal communication skills but cannot sustain this at a level consistent with most others. Relationships are often strained because of interpersonal communication skills. Person is not viewed by others as action oriented or as a contributor. They have a narrowly defined environment in which they can maintain a balance of medical, physical, mental health, and behavioral health.

Psychosocial Health

      Person struggles in a wide range of life areas, such as academics, job, career, and economic stability. Person exhibits fair social and familial connections.