This story was originally published by San Antonio Report and can be found here. 

In an effort to address the unique challenges small business owners and entrepreneurs have faced during the coronavirus pandemic, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SAHCC) is hosting a mental health webinar on Thursday to discuss stress and anxiety in the business community. The goal is to help “normalize the conversation” and empower those in need to reach out for help.

“The mental health concerns experienced by [small business owners] and entrepreneurs is something that we have seen” increase over the years, with more people dying by suicide and experiencing crises, SAHCC Chairwoman Dr. Erika Gonzalez said. “When the pandemic occurred, there were more and different mental health issues that arose as small business owners struggled to keep their doors open and people employed.”

The COVID-19 Mental Health Webinar, moderated by Rivard Report Editor and Publisher Robert Rivard, will discuss mental health challenges for small business owners, including entrepreneurs with children juggling work and home life demands, stresses and risks involved in owning a small business, and information about available resources for those needing support.

Panelists include Clarissa Aguilar, behavioral health consultant with the Center for Health Care Services, Bexar County’s mental health authority, Adriana Dyurich, a licensed counselor with UT Health San Antonio, and Dr. Ted Williams, founder of Genesis Psychiatric Center and UT Health San Antonio psychiatry professor.

Dr. Lyssa Ochoa, chair of SAHCC’s healthcare and bioscience committee, said the panelists were selected because of their mental health expertise but also their entrepreneurial experiences that “help give insight and reflection into the stresses of small business ownership.”

“How small business leaders have been handling the stress of COVID-19 is something important to talk about because mental health has quite a stigma attached to it, and at the same time, we have the least resources in San Antonio [to address it],” Ochoa said. “If a person had a previous mental health concern, it might be even worse for them now, and we need people to keep checking in on how they are being impacted.”

Ochoa said SAHCC’s health and bioscience committee had planned to spend this year creating a health and wellness program for employees of small businesses that included a strong mental health component, but “this pandemic turned everything upside down” and the focus shifted to the employers.

The committee is now dedicating that time to discussing how the anxiety and uncertainty already attached to the entrepreneurial experience is exacerbated due to coronavirus, and that it is more important than ever to reach out for help.

“As small business owners, we are used to handling stressful situations, but we are trying to make sure we put out there that despite the ability to handle stress, it’s OK if a person needs help,” Ochoa said.



The webinar will air on Zoom from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 28, and is open to the public free of charge. To register in advance, click here.