88 | MAY 28 • 2020
Health
Helping the
Helpers
Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute offers
free short-term counseling.
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A
lan Krohn, Ph.D., 74, a clinical
psychologist and psychoanalyst
based in Ann Arbor, is training
psychiatric residents to help medical pro-
fessionals who are treating COVID-19
patients deal with the emotional fallout
from the pandemic.
Dr. Krohn, an adjunct/
clinical associate professor of
psychiatry at the University
of Michigan and a faculty
member of the Michigan
Psychoanalytic Institute and
Society, has served as a Red
Cross disaster medical health worker in
New Orleans, Oklahoma, Sri Lanka and
the Congo region. He has helped survi-
vors of devastating hurricanes and tor-
nados as well as wars. But the work he’
s
doing now is different.
He describes the COVID-19 pandemic
as more of a complex trauma than a sin-
gle traumatic event like a tornado.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is unique
because you can’
t get away from it. It’
s
everywhere and there is no clear begin-
ning and end to it,” Dr. Krohn explains.
Feeling overwhelmed is a “normal reac-
tion to an abnormal situation. People lose
a sense of self. They may be a little bit
frayed as their sense of identity gets lost.
Some people need the trappings of life
more than others. They are missing their
sense of connection and customary roles,”
he says.
According to Marc Rosen,
Ph.D., 65, a psychologist who
lives in Bloomfield Village
and is the public informa-
tion chair of the Michigan
Psychoanalytic Institute,
calls to crisis lines have
increased during the pandemic.
“We are looking at other people with
some suspicion. There is a feeling of look-
ing over our shoulders,” he says. In addi-
tion, the pandemic can trigger traumas
from earlier life.
While the pandemic is disruptive and
unnerving for everyone, it is particularly
devastating for health care professionals.
“They are dedicated, courageous peo-
ple who are in a life-and-death situation
for themselves. Some are sleeping in
their garages to isolate themselves from
their families,” Dr. Krohn says. “They are
undersupplied in terms of equipment and
there is an egregious lack of coordination
from the federal government.”
They experience “flat-out fear and vul-
nerability” as well as guilt that they hav-
en’
t helped their patients. This can lead to
feeling overwhelmed psychologically and
walling off of emotions, he explains.
In response to the pandemic and
Mental Health Awareness Month, which
occurs every May, the institute decided to
offer free, confidential, short-term coun-
seling for those experiencing pain and
trauma during the pandemic.
“We all felt a sense of helplessness and a
need to help,” Dr. Rosen says.
More than 20 licensed professional
therapists are providing five phone or
video counseling sessions at no charge.
They will help callers talk through their
emotions and normalize their reactions
to the pandemic, guide them on self-care
and assess their personal resources, Dr.
Rosen says.
Their primary goal is to help health
care workers, first responders (police,
firefighters and EMS workers), as well as
those serving the public, such as grocery,
postal and delivery workers. However, if
other individuals call, they will be given
resources for help as well.
“No one will be turned away,” Dr.
Rosen says.
Help Lines from
the Michigan
Psychoanalytic
Institute and Society
• Residents of Ann Arbor and western
Wayne County: (734) 677-1590.
• Residents of the tri-county Detroit area
(outside western Wayne County):
(248) 907-4407.
The Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute
and Society, founded in 1963 and
based in Farmington Hills, is a group
of mental health clinicians licensed in
counseling, psychiatry, psychology, and
social work. The Institute offers training
in psychotherapy as well as continuing
medical education for therapists.
Alan Krohn
Marc Rosen