Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community Teachers often write things in end-of-term reports like “progress has been made” or “there has...
Topics related to the last month of treatment using Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q: What are you seeing clinically with clients through the last month of Telehealth in your groups and individual sessions?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shalom Task Force’s confidential hotline has seen an increase in victim-survivors calling about escalated violence in the home and increased incidents of physical violence by their abusers. Many are requesting shelter access and free legal services to help them leave their current abusive relationships. Some are calling just to be heard and believed. Based on recently released worldwide reports and statistics, Shalom Task Force is expecting a surge in calls to our hotline and Sarah’s Voice legal department in the coming months as shelter-in-place ends.
Recent surveys have shown that 2.5 million Israelis don’t believe they can survive the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. Leading economists predict that it might take years before Israel’s unemployment and poverty rates return to pre-pandemic levels. For Meir Panim, an organization devoted to feeding the hungry citizens of Israel, there has been an unprecedented number of people, including the newly unemployed, who have been reaching out for food provisions through emails, phone calls, Municipalities and the Ministry of Health.
Last month, I ended my week with yet another ankle surgery on a patient who sustained an “ankle sprain” three years ago. The patient was treated at an urgent care with motrin and a brace. The patient was told the x-rays were negative for a fracture. About three weeks after the injury, the patient did some home ankle rehabilitation exercises and felt better. About a year after the injury, the patient complained of residual ankle pain and felt ankle stiffness especially in the morning. MRI was ordered which showed nothing wrong.
Recap: Bayla escaped with her cousins by boat from France to England. Sophie was about to open up about what happened to her when she had her accident, when they had to leave quickly to escape the danger in France.
Our sages teach us that everything Hashem made in this world has a purpose and that when we see the wisdom and kindness found within them, we fulfill a positive mitzvah of the heart (Chovos Halevavos, ‘Duties of the Heart’, Gate of Reflection). One of my favorite examples of how we can see the wisdom and kindness of Hashem hidden within creations is with Icebergs.
