Occasionally, we have the opportunity to share the experience of one of our patients, with their participation and consent, of course. We do this so we can show, rather than tell, what it's like from a patient's point of view and what their journey might look like.
Gabby is a 23 year old woman living in New England. As a young adult, she started to experience symptoms of anxiety, which were most prominent in new situations, such as entering unfamiliar places or meeting new people, and she struggled with saying no without feeling guilt. She discussed this during a routine visit with her primary care provider, who referred her to Concert Health. Working with Elana, her behavioral health care manager, Gabby made meaningful progress on her goals around anxiety management, self-care, emotional regulation, and setting healthier boundaries.
“In college I started to become a very anxious person, and I thought it was just the nerves of college and trying to get settled. And then about two years into college, I realized it wasn’t just nerves, and I was very anxious when I went out to do anything. So, I brought it up to my doctor.
She told me to reach out to my own therapist, and I was very against the idea of therapy, so I just put it off. And then when I went back, she was like, “OK, so you’re not reaching out to anybody, so I’m actually going to put a referral out for you.” I never would have even sought anybody if my doctor hadn’t done that.
I was very nervous and anxious the first meeting because I had never done therapy before I wasn’t exactly sure how it was supposed to go. But my first meeting was so good. I tried to be as honest as I could be ... the only way to have it work is to be honest.
Elana was amazing. She told me straight how it is. I needed to hear it straight out, to be like, “This is working, this is not working.”
I’ve actually talked to many of my friends about it because I think Concert Health was really good. I think it definitely helped me, and especially in a time that I needed it and I didn’t know I needed it. I know people are very against therapy sometimes, but I think the way that Concert Health goes about it is very reasonable and it fits easily into your schedule.
I would just tell Elana thank you. I was really against it in the beginning and I feel like I kind of pushed and pulled because I didn’t really want to open up, and she really stuck with me.
I only have one word, which is 'amazing.' ”
Gabby’s behavioral health care manager met with her regularly via telephonic consults. According to Elana, “Gabby was self-motivated from the start and engaged consistently in treatment. Throughout our work together, we focused on practical coping skills she could apply in daily life. Gabby found nightly journaling especially helpful in improving her sleep and providing a healthy emotional outlet.”
Elana said that Gabby was an ideal candidate for the collaborative care approach and had a very positive outcome: “Gabby experienced reduced work-related pressure, increased respect from others, and a growing sense of relief, describing the feeling as ‘a weight has been lifted.’”