Mental health services continue with Catholic Counseling Service

Catholic Counseling Service (CCS) of the Archdiocese of New Orleans hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to offering mental health counseling services. Instead of using the regular method of face-to-face counseling, counselors are now offering teletherapy, said director Joey Pistorius.
 

"We are continuing to offer counseling sessions, however, through a new method that supports social distancing," Pistorius said. “CCS is now offering telephone and videoconferencing options to clients.”
 

It is the first time Catholic Counseling Service has offered the TeleMental Health option to support individuals, couples and families in need of mental health services, said Pistorius. Because of this, he and Deacon Dave Farinelli, among several other counselors on staff, have recently completed nine hours of telepathy training to continue providing “quality and affordable counseling to our clients.”
 

Pistorius said they gleaned best practices, policies and new techniques for assisting clients. The training provided insights on how to transition clients to teletherapy while making them more comfortable over the phone, since social distancing has moved them to offer new styles of therapy than what clients may be used to.
 

“We’re getting creative in how we continue to offer our regular services to clients, through social distancing,” he said. “We are using that lens to protect people’s physical health while supporting their mental health.”
 

New, old clients
 

Pistorius said counselors already has reached out to their regular clients and are accepting new clients. Catholic Counseling Service uses a sliding scale based on income, with some pro-bono counseling slots still available. The counselors are available by phone from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If voicemail comes on, just leave a message, and someone will return the call, Pistorius said.
 

With the COVID-19 crisis, like other crises before it, Pistorius said clients still need mental health care for current challenges, financial and circumstantial. Now, there may be new issues as well.
 

“There’s been a shift in needs,” he said. “Crisis situations tend to highlight some areas already challenged in the first place and then add new challenges which may have been unforeseen.”
 

He said, for example, if parents were concerned about not spending enough time with their children, now they have all the time in the world to interact with them. That could be a positive. But, that extra time with them can add more stress when it comes to balancing work and home life.
 

“It can change a perspective on what really matters,” he said. “It could exacerbate existing challenges. … counselors have to develop new coping strategies to address new issues associated with COVID-19.”
 

For details or help, call Catholic Counseling Service at (504) 861-6245 to leave a message.