Feeling stressed or down lately? Sorry to say this, but you are not alone. There is no doubt that the past year has had a strong impact on our mental health as people deal with new issues stemming from the pandemic. Many people find benefits from therapy during those times, but it might not always be easy to find a therapist and schedule times to visit.
To help people deal with these issues, CVS is now offering counseling services in or near select stores in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas. At these locations, CVS now staffs a licensed clinical social worker trained in cognitive behavior therapy. To address privacy issues, CVS says customers would have no way to know that someone is getting counseling (as opposed to other clinic services) in private rooms. An initial assessment with the therapist costs $129, while a 30-minute counseling session costs $69. Treatment would not be a substitute for long-term care, and would instead be used for issues that could be worked on in five or six sessions.
While at first glance CVS’s move might seem a stretch, it is also another way for retail pharmacies to offer additional health care services to customers, and in a place that they regularly shop at. CVS is being joined in these new therapy service offerings by rivals Walgreens and Walmart.
Social workers think that offering counselling in places consumers already visit will be a good draw, particularly for people in lower-income areas, or who lack health insurance.
Some days, we all need a little extra help.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the environmental factors that have led to new therapy service offerings.
- How have these factors led to new services?
- Show video of athletes discussing mental health: https://www.wsj.com/video/how-athlete-candor-on-mental-health-is-changing-the-game/8F51F296-46AD-423D-9B9F-C24E4DF6D7AD.html
- Ask students their opinions on the topic of mental health services as part of a whole care strategy.
- Show CVS website for mental health services: https://www.cvs.com/content/health-hub/mental-health-counseling
- Brief video of the services: https://youtu.be/3ZJcy8W3d0A
- Divide students into teams. Have each team develop a SWOT analysis for CVS that includes recent environmental trends.
Source: Wall Street Journal; NPR; other news sources
