Sterling K. Brown is having online therapy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The ‘This Is Us’ actor and his wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe – who have children Andrew, eight, and Amare, three, together – have still been consulting with their counsellor via web link while practicing social distancing and have urged others to follow their lead and not stop their regular sessions.
He said: "My therapist reached out to me and my wife and said, like, ‘You guys want to do online sessions? We can do online sessions.’ So hopefully your therapists are accommodating.
"If you have someone, don’t just stop seeing them because you can’t see them in person or find a way to connect with them, whether it’s through FaceTime or any other means, like things don’t have to stop.
"And as a biblical reminder. My mom always says to me, ‘This too shall pass.’ We will make it through to the other side. Hang in there. You are not alone."
As people self-isolate due to the virus, Sterling thinks it’s more important than ever to maintain connections because feeling alone can be so "debilitating".
He told Variety: "The feelings of isolation that you can have when you’re dealing with a mental illness ended up itself can be debilitating.
"Now in the presence of social distancing and actually keeping away from people, it can only be exacerbated. I stress that [people] find community, whether it is through your text chains, the Marco polos and through the zooms through by any means necessary, find a way to connect to your people."
Sterling’s oldest son also attends therapy at his own request.
The actor said: "It was interesting too because he’s like I said, ‘You can go by yourself, big boy … it can be all private, or if you want me to come with you, I can come with you.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I want you to come with me.’
"And so we had this really lovely moment and I get a chance to raise a kid who has no stigma associated with the idea of asking for help. …
"If it is something that you have access to and you’ve been thinking about and you’re like worried about whether or not people were going to clown you or think that you were soft because you sought out help — try it, do it, own it."
Sterling K Brown having online therapy
