Therapist Dr. Orna Guralnik On COVID-19 Pandemic: 'People Are Capable Of A Lot More Than They Knew'

(CBS Local)-- Season two of Showtime's "Couples Therapy" returns on Sunday, April 18 at 10pm EST/PST and that means viewers across America will watch psychotherapist Dr. Orna Guralnik work with couples in her New York City office on a range of issues from marital spats to depression and addiction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult on everyone mentally and physically and Dr. Guralnik talked with us about how the pandemic has impacted our collective mental health, what it was like to do therapy during the pandemic and what viewers can expect from season two of the docuseries.

"It was a really intense time to be filming," said Dr. Guralnik. "We didn't expect the year that we had. We started filming like a regular season and two or three weeks into the filming, the pandemic and the lockdown hit. It became something completely different with the technicalities of actually continuing to work and then the actual dynamics that unfolded between people going through this pandemic. All of the anxieties and illnesses and actually being locked down at home. It was a very intense and important document."

Dr. Guralnik is a big believer in giving her patients the space to work through their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it can be painful and messy, but the psychotherapist believes that it is important for people to listen to one another in order to truly be heard.

"We create a space that is safe enough and inviting enough for people to just want to talk," said Dr. Guralnik. "By design, we want to tell our stories, we want to connect and we want to reach and get better. All you need to do is not get in the way. You really get to see people change and how they deal with issues. People often start treatment thinking change isn't possible, but we are capable of a lot as human."

The docuseries features three different couples and each couple has a different set of issues they are working through. While Dr. Guralnik specifically addresses those problems, she also discusses the impact of the pandemic on our mental health.

"There have been so many existentially crucial things and humans are capable of rising to the occasion," said Dr. Guralnik. "They really are capable of that. The most overarching conclusion that I have drawn from this pandemic is that people are capable of a lot more than they knew. They are able to rise to a certain challenge. That's something we have to remember as individuals and people in relationships."

Stream season one of "Couples Therapy" right now on the Showtime app.