From left, John Raasch, of Youth Advocates of Sitka; Marita Bailey, Amy Zanuzoski and Carol Berge, of Sitka Counseling and Prevention Services; and Parcae Soule, of SEARHC, spoke about counseling resources available to Sitkans. (Rachel Waldholz, KCAW)
CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story said that after the first free session, normal fees would apply. In fact, the agencies are committed to working with residents if further counseling is needed.
As the city continues to cope with the aftermath of last week’s landslides, emergency responders had one key message on Thursday (8-27-15): take care of yourself, and make sure to ask for help if you need it.
To that end, several Sitka organizations are working together to offer counseling services to the community.
Youth Advocates of Sitka, Sitka Counseling and Prevention Services, and SEARHC are all offering free, confidential sessions.
John Raasch, the clinical director at Youth Advocates of Sitka, said you don’t have to be a family member or first responder to be affected by recent events.
“One way to look at it is, if you’re experiencing something and you’re not sure why, but you have a hunch it has something to do with what you’re hearing about, or what you’ve witnessed, or even the work you’ve done a s a first responder, and you think that you don’t want to handle it alone, or just want to talk it out, confidential counseling can do that for you,” Raasch said. “It doesn’t mean you need to have a serious problem.”
The counselors said that in the aftermath of tragedy, people often experience not just grief, but anxiety, fear, anger, and even a sense of hypervigilance. (You can find a full list of common emotional and psychological reactions here.) Those reactions can come with symptoms like trouble sleeping or headaches; or the inability to relax, difficulty thinking clearly, and irritability or anger.
All of that is normal, Raasch said, and a counselor may be able to help.
“What [Sitkans] can expect is a safe place, in a confidential setting, where they’ll be able to talk about what they feel like they need to get off their chest,” Raasch said. “And they’ll be in the presence of someone whose sole purpose at that point in time is to listen to them, seek an understanding, and try to be helpful.”
Counseling is also available for kids — and Raasch says that children often show their reactions differently.
“Young people may be experiencing this a little bit differently, in that children oftentimes will experience what their parents are experiencing, but aren’t able to show or talk about what they’re going through,” Raasch said. “Being aware of your child’s behaviors and how they’re doing emotionally is going to be helpful to them, in that they are not going to be able to articulate clearly what they are going through. They’re just going to show you, through their behavior.”
To access the services, residents can call Sitka Counseling at 747-3636 and mention they are calling for Community Response Counseling. They can then schedule a free session at any of the three agencies.
But the counselors also stressed that there’s no time limit — if residents find they need a session three months, or six months, or a year from now, the service will still be available.
