Through a new site, health care workers can find mental health counseling for free

It started as a simple exchange between friends.

Ariel Brown, a medical scientist, knew that her Arlington neighbor, an ICU doctor, was worried about his residents’ well-being long before the coronavirus crisis. So in the midst of the pandemic, on March 21, she sent Dan Saddawi-Konefka, the anesthesia residency program director at Massachusetts General Hospital, a text asking how she could help.

He called her immediately. “I’m thinking the most about supporting their mental health,” he said. “Can you think about that?”

That evening, Brown distributed a Google form to mental health practitioners via social media and community listservs. “Front-line medical personnel are in need of increased resources to support their mental health,” she wrote. “Can you help by volunteering some of your time?”

Within eight hours, 67 Massachusetts-based providers had responded.

Less than a month later, Brown has set up a website that lets health care workers find licensed mental health practitioners willing to offer free therapy. Brown calls it “The Emotional PPE Project” (emotionalPPE.org).