How the pandemic saved therapy - by James R Phillips CEO of ABOVE

I can remember sitting with my wife enjoying a bar stool at "Irish Kevin's" in Key West the month of March of 2020, and everyone was talking about a "virus" that would shut down the world. We blew it off and said the flu happens every year, the next few years would show us how wrong we were. In the coming days I saw all my favorite places close, by favorite I mean every gym in town, but it was obvious elective fun was over for a while in favor of everyones safety. The novelty of working from the comfort of our couches, while getting quality time with our favorite pets didn't seem so bad at first, but as the line at the liquor store grew every morning at 800am and the anxiety from social isolation became palpable it was clear the world was going to need therapy.

It doesn't seem like a big deal at first when you think of the nature of the COVID lockdowns, but we had never done this before so the outcome was going to be uncharted territory. As the pandemic continued people found themselves captivated by the differing opinions of people they saw on the news, and social upheaval happening around them turning friends into enemies as fast as you can like a post on social media. The lockdown created dangerous echo chambers for some, aggressive social justice warriors of others, and conspiracy theorist of everyone. The anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and broken relationships hung in the air like the stale smoke from a trailer park fireworks display. We were in the middle of the biggest mental health crisis anyone had seen in their lifetime what could possibly help?

It was some time ago in my early days as a consultant I had worked with a start up attempting to put together an online therapy option for people to access from the comfort of their home, it had some early traction, but the sluggish response of insurance companies with unpredictable reimbursement had left the company with limited growth potential, because no one at the time believed someone would be willing to private pay for therapy. The opportunity was snatched up by "Betterhelp", and a few smaller providers of services with the gamble people would pay out of their pocket for much needed mental health care. This paid off in the spring and summer of 2020 and millions of people found the help they needed, and a few clinicians took their spare time and rekindled a love for clinical work. I was one of those clinicians that took that chance to stop "identifying" as a health care executive, and to do the thing I loved that brought me into the field of mental health. This new adventure has been going on for myself three years. The passion has lead me to collaborate with the best leader I know (Mrs Phillips) to start a romantically termed start up called ABOVE. We have the goal to take the work I came back to field for on to the next chapter.

In July of 2020 we made it back to Irish Kevin's in Key West, things were different, but still what we remembered. The isolation of lockdown was coming to an end for us, but many others had months or even years to endure. The story continues for the salvation of therapy, and the greatest mental health crisis of our time. For the first time clinicians and clients have found each other, some even crossing state or international boundaries. The groundwork has been laid for specialization, and extension of already impactful services. At ABOVE we are proud to be a provider building off of this opportunity giving people the care and interventions to empower them to change their lives.