As someone who has been dependent on a few head doctors in my day, I feel your pain if your shrink is on vacation this month. Therapists have been on the front line of our country’s mental health crises, and many take a well-deserved break in August. Here are some ways I’ve found to cope with my emotions — and my addictive impulses — when my therapist is unavailable:
1. Get another kind of guru. When my analyst wasn’t around during a crisis, I consulted with a rabbi and reverend I trusted, and a physical therapist helped me through the psychological strains of a back injury.
“Your therapist should not be your sole comfort and confidant,” said Sherry Amatenstein, a licensed clinical social worker in Queens who once did a phone session with a first-time client who was fighting severe depression right after the woman underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer. She suggests identifying other “core pillars” you can rely on in a pinch, like a relative, religious leader, teacher, mentor, life coach, classmate or sponsor.
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2. Shore up support systems. Connect with networks of like-minded people, whether it’s a Mahjong, cycling or worship community. I’ve depended on my weekly writing workshop with creative colleagues, and I launched an annual “Shrinks Are Away” reading, where authors share words to soothe the savage psyche during the month of desertion.
“The more arenas where you feel safe and can be yourself, the better off you are,” Connecticut psychiatrist Vatsal G. Thakkar said. “The goal of therapy is often how to build healthy reliances.”
3. Make art from your agony. When asked why she wrote, a famous novelist once answered, “Because otherwise I’m stuck with life.” Try journaling in a notebook or drawing in adult coloring books. Sign up for a painting, sculpting or poetry course at summer school or a local university. Join a choir, a group for sketch comedy, storytelling or improv.
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“Talk therapy can be insular and myopic,” Miami psychotherapist Justena Kavanagh said. “Sometimes it’s more helpful to share an artistic creation with a wider audience you can inspire.”
4. Suffer well. Although many people go into therapy to get happier, my Arkansas-based addiction specialist Frederick Woolverton (who will be available most of August) advises his patients to learn to “suffer well.” Knowing clients might have a hard time, he helps them prepare, giving homework like listing new coping mechanisms. Someone trying to quit smoking might schedule Narcotics Anonymous meetings, reduce alcohol intake (which lowers resistance), make plans with nonsmokers — or have a nicotine patch, spray, gum or inhaler handy in case cravings hit.
5. If you need a therapist now. Many mental health professionals make sure there’s backup in their absence.
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“I always share who’ll be covering for my patients — in person, on my voicemail and out-of-office email, with their contact info,” said Carlos Saavedra, a psychiatrist in Manhattan.
It’s okay to rely on that designated person, that’s why they’re there. If you’re having an emergency — like suicidal feelings or mental breakdown — of course go to your nearest emergency room or urgent care, or call a crisis hotline. For less pressing issues like loneliness or addiction cravings, “there’s virtual therapy groups and 12-step meetings that are free daily the entire summer,” Michigan psychotherapist Judith Burdick said.
She also suggests trying “bibliotherapy,” immersing yourself in therapeutic books to read or listen to, like “The Drama of the Gifted Child” or “The Body Keeps the Score.”
6. Manage medication. Waiting until the last minute to renew your antidepressant or other prescriptions could add to anxiety. Given recent shortages of drugs like Adderall, some psycho-pharmacologists will offer their patients a prescription for a year’s worth of refills, even for controlled substances.
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7. Take a look inward. “Write a list of things that make you feel calmer,” Chicago psychiatrist Kristen Underhill Welch suggested. “Sometimes it’s getting out of your house, seeing friends, or working out. Everyone’s different.”
My self-care methods include attending nearby book events, exercising (swimming, dancing or taking a daily long walk with a friend) and holding my mate for an hour nightly as we watch a TV show or movie without speaking — so we can’t argue (my favorite mandate from my therapist when I was going through withdrawal.)
With money you’re not co-paying your mental health provider, consider a swim club membership, yoga or meditation classes, or weekly manicure, pedicure and massage. Who knows? It might work so well it’ll kick you off the couch. If not, at least you’ll have something new to talk about in September.
Susan Shapiro is the author of the memoirs “Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved in Life Except Sex” and “The Forgiveness Tour” which comes out in paperback this month.
