►
Description
Today, the County’s behavioral health and trauma experts talk about protecting and caring for our mental health during COVID-19 and strategies to support children, youth, adults and families during and after the pandemic.
Recorded May 11, 2020.
The City of Cupertino would like to express its thanks to the County of Santa Clara for the use of their video materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cupertino, please visit https://www.cupertino.org/coronavirus
C
Good
morning
my
name
is
Megha
Lian
and
I
am
a
program
manager
with
the
County
of
Santa
Clara's
behavioral
health
services
department.
Before
we
get
started
today,
I
have
two
quick
announcements.
First,
we
were
wearing
our
face
coverings
before
this
segment
began.
We
have
removed
them
in
order
to
help
our
American
sign
language
interpreters,
but
we
will
be
putting
them
on
right
after
this
segment
ends,
and
we
encourage
you
to
keep
wearing
your
face
coverings
when
you
are
outside
of
the
home.
I
also
have
an
update
on
numbers
for
kovat
19
in
the
county.
C
C
This
is
also
a
reminder
to
continue
sheltering
in
place,
so
today
we're
going
to
be
talking
about
mental
health,
and
this
is
a
timely
topic
because
may
is
mental
health
awareness
month
and
because
there
are
so
many
things
that
are
impacting
our
mental
health
right
now
during
this
pandemic,
it's
common
and
it's
okay
to
be
feeling
a
whole
range
of
feelings,
from
anxiety
and
fear
to
hopelessness
and
even
frustration
and
anger.
There
are
things
that
we
can
do
to
protect
our
mental
health
and
I'm
here
today,
with
dr.
C
Rachel
Talley
Montes
senior
manager
with
the
County
of
Santa
Clara's
behavioral
health
services
department.
Rachel
is
a
licensed
Marriage
and
Family
Therapist
and
has
a
doctorate
in
counseling
psychology.
So
welcome
Rachel.
Thank
you
happy
to
be
here.
So,
let's
start
with
talking
about
stress
and
some
of
its
impacts,
what
are
some
of
the
different
ways
that
people
might
be
responding
to
this
pandemic
right
now,
when.
D
We
think
about
stress,
there's
three
different
categories:
if
you
will
that
we
think
about
the
first
is
mild
stress,
we
encompass
mild
stress
everything
all
day,
getting
ready
to
go
to
work.
Anybody
to
go
to
school
for
kids,
taking
a
test
may
be
facing
a
job
interview,
but
also
good
things
like
getting
married,
having
a
baby
we're
not
going
to
amusement
parks
right
now,
but
when
you
go
to
amusement
parks
in
the
past
and
you
ride
a
roller
coaster.
D
That's
an
example
of
mild
stress
and
we
have
all
sorts
of
mechanisms
in
our
body
and
our
past
experiences
to
help
us
cope
with
that
mild
stress
and
it
actually
supports
our
resilience
and
our
skills
and
our
capacities
to
manage
stress,
that's
more
moderate
or
more
intense.
Moderate
stress
is
stress
that
can
feel
at
times
a
bit
overwhelming,
but
we
have
the
resources
to
reorganize
around
whatever
is
happening
to
be
able
to
help
us
kind
of
move
forward
and
then
there's
more
significant
stress
that
could
be
severe
chronic.
D
The
research
might
refer
to
it
as
acute
or
toxic
stress,
and
this
is
stress
that
can
be
long
and
enduring
unpredictable,
and
the
kind
of
stress
that
we
think
about
with
regards
to
maybe
medical
traumas,
child
abuse
and
neglect
things.
That
might
happen
with
regards
to
intimate
partner
violence
and
those
are
stressors
that
we
really
need
to
pay
significant
attention
to
to
ensure
the
health
and
well-being
of
individuals,
children,
families
in
our
community.
So
we've.
C
D
So
we
definitely
have
been
sheltering
in
place
for
a
while
and
the
impact
is
that
we're
not
able
to
go
about
our
days
in
the
way
that
we
used
to.
In
addition,
there
may
be
more
significant
impacts
that
are
coming
our
way
and,
as
we
think
about
the
pandemic
and
the
stress
affiliated
with
the
pandemic,
everybody
has
their
own
unique
and
individual
response.
I
think
that's
the
most
important
thing
to
really
be
mindful
of.
For
some.
This
has
been
catastrophic.
D
Maybe
you've
been
sick
yourself.
Maybe
a
loved
one
has
died,
that's
very
significant
and
that's
very
impactful
and
wondering
what
the
next
steps
are.
How
are
we
going
to
move
through?
What
does
this
all
mean
may
at
times
feel
overwhelming?
For
others,
it's
been
more
of
a
reorganization
of
our
days.
It's
been
adjusting
kind
of
our
routines
and
how
we
go
through
our
day
to
day
life
and
and
kind
of
managing
those
kinds
of
circumstances.
D
We
look
to
the
future
in
terms
of
thinking
about
how
we
manage
longer
term,
stress
and
and
I
think
that
our
future
personally
I
feel
very
hopeful
about
our
future
and
when
we
can
maintain
a
sense
of
hope.
That's
certainly
something
that
will
help
when
we're
facing
something.
That's
kind
of
more
longer-term.
So.
C
D
We
think
about
the
word
trauma
trauma
is
our
response
to
a
stressful
event,
so
for
some
of
us
very
early
on
I
recall
in
the
pandemic.
In
the
first
few
weeks
of
shelter-in-place,
we
were
going
to
the
stores
and
we
were
buying
toilet
paper
and
we
were
buying
paper
towels
and
hand
sanitizer
and
sanitizing
wipes
and
trying
to
get
our
pantries
full
and
that,
if
you
will,
is
a
stress
response,
it's
a
fight
response
to
fend
off
the
negative
impacts
of
significant
stress
and
as
part
of
our
protective
mechanisms.
We
also
have
the
flee
response.
D
We're
gonna
run
from
the
event
it's
hard
to
run
from
this
event,
but
we've
actually
seen
people
run
towards
their
main
family,
home
children.
Returning
from
college
and
coming
home
fleeing
the
environment,
they
were
in
to
come
to
an
environment
that
feels
safe,
that's
sort
of
a
harbor.
If
you
will
of
connection
and
support,
and
then
we
also
have
a
freeze
response,
a
freeze
response
as
a
response
that
we
don't
quite
know
what
to
do.
We
feel
almost
like
a
deer
in
headlights.
You've
probably
heard
that
expression.
D
The
important
thing
is
that
these
are
hopefully
momentary
moments
in
time,
and
we
don't
want
to
see
these
heightened
stress
responses,
prolong
for
days
or
weeks
or
even
months
on
end,
and
so
the
key
to
combating
this.
From
being
a
longer
term.
Impact
is
really
to
ensure
that
we
have
adequate
coping
strategies
and
support
systems
that
we'll
be
able
to
help
us
maintain.
So.
C
D
It's
really
important
to
be
connected
being
connected
to
your
family,
your
friends,
your
social
networks,
but
also
to
your
community
resources.
We
have
a
realm,
an
array
of
resources
here
in
Santa,
Clara,
County
and
getting
connected
with
supports
related
to
food,
shelter,
financial
support,
physical
health,
but
also
mental
health
and
substance.
Abuse
supports
is
essential
and
connecting
with
organizations
such
as
2-1-1,
our
resource
and
referral
line
in
Santa
Clara
County
gives
us
an
opportunity
to
get
connected
with
resources
and
ensures
that
we're
not
isolated
and
managing
the
stress
on
our
own
great.
D
Know
during
any
stressful
event,
but
particularly
right
now,
it's
really
important
that
parents,
actually
caregivers,
actually
take
care
of
themselves.
It's
a
little
counterintuitive.
You
want
to
put
all
of
your
resources
into
the
health
and
the
well-being
of
your
children.
But
the
first
thing
is:
you
have
to
make
sure
that
you,
as
the
caregiver
are
well
that
you're
emotionally
balanced,
you're
healthy.
D
D
It's
really
important
that
caregivers
and
parents,
and
really
adults
they're
supporting
children,
but
also
other
adults
in
our
society
that
were
present
and
were
attuned
and
we're
responsive
present
means
really
being
with
someone
really
being
connected.
Taking
that
time
to
say
how
are
you
I'm
here
for
you?
Let's
talk
having
those
kinds
of
conversations
attuned
is
noticing
how
somebody's
feeling
wondering
about
it
connecting
with
them
about
that
and
then
responsive,
meaning
that
you're
responding
to
the
needs
of
others,
as
well
as
responding
to
the
needs
of
yourself.
D
C
D
I
think
one
of
the
things
we've
talked
a
lot
about
is
emergency
plans
and
and
I
like
to
think
of
how
do
we
build
plans
in
the
same
way
around
well-being,
well-being,
plans
or
stress
reduction
plans?
Things
like
that
and
so
I
encourage
all
of
us
to
have
a
plan
for
how
we're
going
to
and
how
we
are
managing
the
different
stressors
that
are
coming
into
our
day-to-day
existence
during
this
pandemic.
All
of
the
plans
should
consider
two
things:
one
and
it's
kind
of
two
words
being
calm
and
being
connected.
D
What
are
the
things
and
the
activities
you
can
do
to
maintain
a
state
of
calm
to
support,
stress
reduction
that
might
be
going
out
on
a
walk,
getting
some
sunshine
and
might
be
taking
a
bath
or
a
shower
reading
books
listening
to
music
that
you
enjoy
also
being
connected.
We
need
to
be
physically
distant,
but
we
can
be
socially
connected.
We
can
be
emotionally
connected
and
those
social-emotional
connect.
Those
relationships
that
we
have
are
up
most
important,
and
so
your
stress
plan
or
your
well-being
plan
can
really
include
how
you're
going
to
stay
connected.
D
C
You
Rachel
I'm,
really
glad
we
had
a
chance
today
to
talk
about
mental
health
because,
as
we've
said,
mental
health
affects
so
much
of
how
we
think
and
feel
how
we
function
and,
as
you
said,
how
we
take
care
of
others
as
well.
We
just
want
to
leave
you
with
a
few
important
numbers.
There
are
providers
all
over
santa
clara
county
who
are
available
right
now
to
support
you
to
access
mental
health
services.
C
You
can
either
call
your
own
health,
mental
health
plan
or
your
own
health
plan,
or
you
can
call
the
County
of
Santa
Clara's
behavioral
health
services
department
to
access
mental
health
services,
and
this
includes
crisis
services
or
general
referrals.
You
can
call
one
eight
hundred
seven
zero,
four,
zero,
nine,
zero,
zero
to
access
substance,
use
services,
call
1-800,
four,
eight,
eight,
nine,
nine
one,
nine,
if
you
or
someone
you
know,
is
thinking
about
self
harm
or
if
somebody
just
needs
someone
to
talk
to.
C
We
have
the
suicide
and
crisis
services
which
are
24/7,
they're,
free
and
they're
confidential.
The
county's
suicide
and
crisis
hotline
number
is
185
five
to
seven,
eight,
four,
two
zero
four
or
you
can
text
the
word
renew
our
e
and
e
w
to
the
number
741
741
to
access
a
crisis
counselor
by
text
message
and
finally,
for
up
to
date,
information
about
kovat
nineteen
in
the
Bay
Area.
You
can
call
2-1-1,
so
we
hope
you
really
consider
reaching
out
for
support,
or
at
least
keeping
these
phone
numbers
on
hand.