Patricia L Wick, PhD

04/23/2020

Important mental health resources compiled by the Maryland Psychological Association Professional Practice Committee

American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/practice/programs/dmhi/research-information/pandemics
Includes a wealth of information on the impact of the coronavirus, including Seven Crucial Research Findings that Can Help People Deal with COVID-19.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): https://www.samhsa.gov/coronavirus
Information for treatment programs and the public relevant to substance abuse.

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress: https://www.cstsonline.org/resources/resource-master-list/coronavirus-and-emerging-infectious-disease-outbreaks-response
Resources in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese for families and health care providers, e.g., supporting families of health care workers exposed to COVID-19.

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS): https://istss.org/public-resources/covid-19-resources
Includes links to a variety of organizations that provide information regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

National Center for PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/covid/mhp_patients_covid.asp

Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress: https://www.healthcaretoolbox.org/tools-and-resources/covid19.html
Includes material for helping children cope with stresses associated with the pandemic.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America: https://adaa.org/finding-help/coronavirus-anxiety-helpful-resources
Materials include videos for helping patients with anxiety about coronavirus.

National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/covid-19-guide
A guide that recognizes that people with mental illness face additional challenges in dealing with COVID-19.

American Public Health Association: https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/communicable-disease/coronavirus
A chance to see how the public health community is responding to the pandemic.

National Su***de Prevention Lifeline: https://su***depreventionlifeline.org/current-events/supporting-your-emotional-well-being-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/
Emphasizes su***de prevention during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Maryland Department of Health Behavioral Health Administration: https://bha.health.maryland.gov/Pages/bha-covid-19.aspx
Includes lists of executive orders and memoranda from the state pertaining to providers during the COVID-19 crisis.A

MPA is working to assure that you have the information needed as Maryland deals with COVID-19 (coronavirus). The situation is fluid and will remain that way for a while. COVID-19 information for the general public Resources for Maryland residents from the special open enrollment period for the MD He...

02/19/2020

American Psychological Association
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Feb. 17, 2020
CONTACT
Kim I. Mills
kmills@apa.org
(202) 336-6048

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE HALT TO SHARING IMMIGRANT YOUTHS’ CONFIDENTIAL PSYCHOTHERAPY NOTES WITH ICE

Weaponizing therapy sessions ‘appalling,’ says APA president

WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association expressed shock and outrage that the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement has been sharing confidential psychotherapy notes with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deny asylum to some immigrant youths.

“ORR’s sharing of confidential therapy notes of traumatized children destroys the bond of trust between patient and therapist that is vital to helping the patient,” said APA President Sandra L. Shullman, PhD. “We call on ORR to stop this practice immediately and on the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to investigate its prevalence. We also call on ICE to release any immigrants who have had their asylum requests denied as a result.”

APA was reacting to a report in The Washington Post focused largely on the case of then-17-year-old Kevin Euceda, an asylum-seeker from Honduras whose request for asylum was granted by a judge, only to have it overturned when lawyers from ICE revealed information he had given in confidence to a therapist at a U.S. government shelter. According to the article, other unaccompanied minors have been similarly detained as a result of ICE’s use of confidential psychotherapy notes. These situations have also been confirmed by congressional testimony since 2018.

Unaccompanied minors who are detained in U.S. shelters are required to undergo therapy, ostensibly to help them deal with trauma and other issues arising from leaving their home countries. According to the Post, ORR entered into a formal memorandum of agreement with ICE in April 2018 to share details about children in its care. The then-head of ORR testified before Congress that the agency would be asking its therapists to “develop additional information” about children during “weekly counseling sessions where they may self-disclose previous gang or criminal activity to their assigned clinician,” the newspaper reported. The agency added two requirements to its public handbook: that arriving children be informed that while it was essential to be honest with staff, self-disclosures could affect their release and that if a minor mentioned anything having to do with gangs or drug dealing, therapists would file a report within four hours to be passed to ICE within one day, the Post said.

“For this administration to weaponize these therapy sessions by ordering that the psychotherapy notes be passed to ICE is appalling,” Shullman added. “These children have already experienced some unimaginable traumas. Plus, these are scared minors who may not understand that speaking truthfully to therapists about gangs and drugs – possibly the reasons they left home – would be used against them."

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes nearly 121,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.



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02/19/2020

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE HALT TO SHARING IMMIGRANT YOUTHS’ CONFIDENTIAL PSYCHOTHERAPY NOTES WITH ICE

Weaponizing therapy sessions ‘appalling,’ says APA president

WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association expressed shock and outrage that the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement has been sharing confidential psychotherapy notes with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deny asylum to some immigrant youths.

“ORR’s sharing of confidential therapy notes of traumatized children destroys the bond of trust between patient and therapist that is vital to helping the patient,” said APA President Sandra L. Shullman, PhD. “We call on ORR to stop this practice immediately and on the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to investigate its prevalence. We also call on ICE to release any immigrants who have had their asylum requests denied as a result.”

APA was reacting to a report in The Washington Post focused largely on the case of then-17-year-old Kevin Euceda, an asylum-seeker from Honduras whose request for asylum was granted by a judge, only to have it overturned when lawyers from ICE revealed information he had given in confidence to a therapist at a U.S. government shelter. According to the article, other unaccompanied minors have been similarly detained as a result of ICE’s use of confidential psychotherapy notes. These situations have also been confirmed by congressional testimony since 2018.

Unaccompanied minors who are detained in U.S. shelters are required to undergo therapy, ostensibly to help them deal with trauma and other issues arising from leaving their home countries. According to the Post, ORR entered into a formal memorandum of agreement with ICE in April 2018 to share details about children in its care. The then-head of ORR testified before Congress that the agency would be asking its therapists to “develop additional information” about children during “weekly counseling sessions where they may self-disclose previous gang or criminal activity to their assigned clinician,” the newspaper reported. The agency added two requirements to its public handbook: that arriving children be informed that while it was essential to be honest with staff, self-disclosures could affect their release and that if a minor mentioned anything having to do with gangs or drug dealing, therapists would file a report within four hours to be passed to ICE within one day, the Post said.

“For this administration to weaponize these therapy sessions by ordering that the psychotherapy notes be passed to ICE is appalling,” Shullman added. “These children have already experienced some unimaginable traumas. Plus, these are scared minors who may not understand that speaking truthfully to therapists about gangs and drugs – possibly the reasons they left home – would be used against them."

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes nearly 121,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.

01/26/2020

I have one opening at the Key Highway office on Mondays at 2:30pm. I also have daytime openings on Tuesdays in the Pikesville location.

12/21/2019

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season and many exciting adventures in 2020!

10/17/2019

I currently have openings during the day on Tuesdays at the Pikesville office.

08/15/2019

Key Highway location