Therapists seeing more 'collateral damage' from economy

As most of my readers know, I lost my job a year ago. No unemployment for me because I worked for a church that did not have to pay into the system. As of today, I have part time work starting to come in. (More on this later) It is very stressful to see your job and paycheck go when you did nothing wrong. It was so stressful for my brother that less than a week after he lost his job, he had a massive heart attack and died. He was only 56!
When it comes to stress, having something happen that is out of your control or has nothing to do with you, it leaves you doubting everything. We question right and wrong. We question what's wrong with us that we lost our job but people we know did not. More and more layoffs are coming. More and more businesses are closing their doors. There will be a lot more people needing help but without insurance and without incomes to pay for therapy, how will they get the help they need to recover?

Therapists seeing more 'collateral damage' from economy
Story Highlights
Psychologists say referrals are up during this economically turbulent time

Therapy helps to "bear witness" to the troubles people are having, doctor says

Tips for therapy seekers: Check out that therapist is licensed, negotiate fee



By John Bonifield
CNN Medical Producer

(CNN) -- Stacey Rosenberg, a former marketing manger in Boston, knows the catastrophic feeling of a layoff. She has lost her job twice in the midst of the recession.


"When I first got laid off, I sort of had a mission. I wanted to get a new job as quickly as possible, and when it became apparent that that was not going to happen very quickly, it was very upsetting for me," Rosenberg says.

Unemployed for months, Rosenberg started retreating from friends and family, spending more time by herself. Since early summer, she's sought help inside a psychotherapist's office.

"I had to figure out how to deal with it the second time around, because I did so poorly the first time around," she says.

No formal data exist on the number of Americans who are turning to therapy during the recession, but most clinical psychologists say that referrals are up.

"This is really unprecedented," says Nancy Molitor, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, Illinois. "I've been practicing for 20 years, and I'm seeing just an unprecedented amount of anxiety, as are most of my colleagues."


Rick Weinberg, a clinical psychologist in Tampa, Florida, says that in one recent week 80 percent of his patients were discussing the pain inflicted on them in the economy. His patients included a small business owner who was forced to lay off longtime staff, a family of four evicted from their home and moving into a rental, and a family with two teenagers that was down to a one-parent income and experiencing frequent spending arguments and acting out by the teens.
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