BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Amatus Recovery has 13 treatment centers including the Foundations Center in Baltimore County.
Coronavirus has changed how they operate.
“The clients themselves are actually in the sober homes and they are getting clinical services via something called telehealth like the zoom platform,” said Michael Silberman
“That way they can get services from their clinicians, still get group therapy, individual session, meet with the medical staff but now it’s through a tv screen because of social distancing and everything going on with the coronavirus,” the Amatus Recovery Centers Co-Founder said.
Samantha Wright said having online conferencing is a game changer because she can still see her support system and has access to speakers from across the country.
“I think I would definitely be in a darker place than I am right now if I didn’t have that connection and was just totally isolated. I feel like I’ve been able to focus on myself more than ever. I’ve had all the help I could ask for,” she said.
Carley Foster is a clinician who now counsels from home.
“I’ve really had to dig into my bag of tricks to figure out first of all what’s going to keep people attention because I’m not actually in the room,” said Foster. “What are some things that are going to engage people enough so they are focused on the group instead of whatever anxiety is brewing up in them.”
Silberman says they are getting more phone calls from new clients than they ever did before.
“When you add finance, family stress, and personal isolation on top of it we’re seeing more relapse. More people get involved. The liquor stores are delivering so it has just been building up.”
Working to help people maintain sobriety through isolation.
“What are you going to do to take care of yourself through this,” said Foster. “What kind of coping skills can you utilize and what are you going to do differently. I think it’s a really good opportunity to practice those things before you go back out in the real world.”
To learn more about Amatus click here.
