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Winter Park therapist says calls for mental health help are on the rise since Roe was overturned

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Gemunu Amarasinghe
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Some Floridians are finding themselves struggling with their mental health after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.

In this conversation with WMFE, therapist Cherlette McCullough says she’s receiving calls from people on both sides of the abortion debate.

Some Floridians are finding themselves struggling with their mental health after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Winter Park therapist Cherlette McCullough says she’s receiving calls from people who support abortion rights, and are angry and sad, and also people who are anti-abortion bothered by the intensity of debate or division within families.

Photo: Cherlette McCullough
Cherlette McCullough

McCullough spoke to WMFE’s Danielle Prieur.

To hear the conversation, click on the Listen button above.

Interview highlights

On the calls she’s receiving: “A lot of people are just experiencing a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety right now, and a lot of uncertainty. And it reminds me so much of our times during the beginning of COVID, I am really guiding people to be honest with how they’re feeling.”

On what she tells her patients, old and new: “Because a lot of times we’re emotionally exhausted, we are more tired, we’re more irritable, we’re easy, it’s easy for us to not have tolerance for things that we normally can. So paying attention to those things. And when it’s time to take a break, then you take a break.”

On when to get help: “If you notice someone who’s lost their ability to focus, lost their ability to really function like they normally function, it’s time to help them get some professional help, seek some professional help all of us have a role when it comes to this.”