Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder and YANA founder Sal Lopizzo stand in front of an iHelp workstation at YANA. (Photo via The Wave)
According to the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC), there are approximately 700,000 New Yorkers who still experience emotional distress resulting from Hurricane Sandy, two years after the storm tore through the New York area. To help some of those people, MHA is introducing iHelp, a free and confidential program that can be accessed online from any computer or mobile device, or via phone, at any time, Julie Sickel reports in The Wave.
“Some of the problems that emerge after a natural disaster like this are depression, anxiety, using substances, and insomnia and sleeplessness,” Dr. Kathryn Salisbury, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy expert, said at a press conference Wednesday. “These are all of the issues iHelp: Sandy Stress Relief can really help people in Rockaway, and around the state, recover from more fully.”
The program offers five cognitive behavior modules which will be available in both English and Spanish, with sessions lasting 30 to 50 minutes each and between four and 10 sessions per module. Individuals may enroll in more than one of the five modules.
The iHelp modules include MoodCalmer, for depression and stress; Restore, for insomnia and sleep difficulty; FearFighter, for anxiety, phobias and panic; SHADE, for long- and short-term drug and alcohol abuse; and OCFighter, for obsessions and compulsion.
Melissa Trentadue, supervisor at Catholic Charities Brooklyn Queens Disaster Response Management, Rockaway Office, believes that the program could be a particular boon because of the technologies it employs.
“The families who are quiet, who don’t always admit that they need help are the ones who do need help and they’re the ones who won’t go receive face-to face counseling.”
A leader from YANA (You Are Never Alone), a community resource center in Rockaway Park, Queens, agreed.
“iHelp has the unique opportunity to use technology to help,” said Salvatore Lopizzo, director of YANA, Inc., which hosted the event. “People can talk through phone or a computer screen and get help without being noticed; they can say things they couldn’t otherwise say.”