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Fayetteville mental health clinic offering video therapy option

Fayetteville Observer - 3/31/2020

Mar. 31--This content is being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Fayetteville Observer at fayobserver.com/subscribenow. Follow fayobserver.com/topics/coronavirus for more coronavirus coverage.

A clinic that provides mental health help to veterans and their families is offering therapy sessions by video to its clients during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Steven A. Cohen Clinic at Cape Fear Valley, which also treats the families of military troops, is still seeing clients at its facility on Village Drive, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Cohen Veterans Network. The clinic, which is part of the network, is encouraging clients to make use of a "telehealth" option with their regular therapists, it said.

Sheila Weaver, the clinic director, said in the statement that clinic officials want veterans to know that they're not alone during the current situation with the virus, which also is known as COVID-19.

"We're here for them," she said.

The clinic also is offering its Clinic 101 workshop virtually, the statement said. Staff members are working with other groups to develop more virtual programming, it said.

The clinics provide therapy for such mental health issues as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, adjustment issues, and transition challenges, according to the statement.

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The Cohen network, which has 15 military clinics, announced March 19 that it was working to make sure its clients could get mental health services online. The clinics are using CVN Telehealth, which is operating a virtual mental health system for veterans and military families, the statement said.

The telehealth program provides face-to-face video therapy. It has been a growing trend in the network, according to the statement. Currently 17% of active clients have received at least one session of care through the program, and the number of such sessions has increased 400% since January 2019, it said.

Dr. Anthony Hassan, president and CEO of the network, said in the statement that the clinics and their partners realize the importance of providing consistent mental health care to their clients.

"For the safety of our clients, partners, and staff, all Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics are offering therapy and case management services online," he said.

Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.

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