Protecting Your Mental Health During COVID-19: A Message from the Maryland EIP

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The Maryland EIP and our partners are taking measures to support public health during these difficult times. We acknowledge the stress of coping with COVID-19 among providers, consumers, friends, and family. To that end, please find specific resources below on coping with COVID-19 and adjusting during this time. As a reminder, there are also helpful early psychosis resources that are available online at www.MarylandEIP.com.

General Resources and Info on Protecting Your Mental Health

• Our Strive for Wellness Clinic has dedicated a whole page of their website to COVID-19 information and related resources.
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Maryland (NAMI-MD) has a list of resources for coping with COVID-19 that they continue to update. NAMI-MD also recently launched a survey to better understand the needs of the local community.
• The Mental Health Association of Maryland has compiled a list of resources to protect your wellbeing at this time (this will be updated daily).
• The Maryland Coalition for Families (MCF) has resources for recovery supports during this pandemic, including for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups. MCF is also still offering family peer support (virtually). Other services include 1:1 support via phone calls and texts, video conferencing, and emails. All services are offered at no cost to families.
• The Suicide Prevention Resource Center also has a number of resources for coping with COVID-19.
• NAMI's national office has also released a comprehensive guide to answer frequently asked questions regarding the intersection between COVID-19 and mental health, in addition to an article on coping skills to use during this time.
• For general information on COVID-19 and information on ways to protect your mental health, please visit our partner’s resource guide at the National Center for School Mental Health.
• SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline also provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor. More information can be found here.

If you, or someone you care about, are feeling overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, depression, or anxiety, or feel like you want to harm yourself or others call 911.

For Providers

• The Maryland Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Administration has a comprehensive list of resources for the community and providers.
• Behavioral Health System Baltimore has COVID-19 Prevention and Response Resources for providers, including specific state guidance on mental health services. Further Baltimore-specific resources can be found here.
• Maryland Association of Behavioral Health Authorities also offers county-specific information for providers in Maryland.
• The American Psychological Association has a free office and technology checklist for telepsychological services and has also made their Telepsychology Best Practice 101 Series freely available.

Early Psychosis Resources

• Our website now has a revamped Resource area with extensive early psychosis information for providers, consumers, family, and friends.
• Maryland’s Behavioral Health website has 24 free modules on early psychosis for individuals interested in supporting youth/young adult mental health

Please follow us on Facebook for weekly updates and more information.

Take care,
The Maryland EIP