When Derrick Stott was unexpectedly hospitalized, he didn't not know who would care for his service dog, Keller.

Thankfully, his counselor showed up in the right place at the right time and was able to help.

"I texted him and I didn't get a reply. I thought that was kind of odd because he's very meticulous about things. He's just really good about letting me know what's going on," said Michelle Hargis-Zuerlein, a mental health counselor with CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs in Nebraska.

Hargis-Zuerlein says she was coming to pick up Stott, her client, for a support group session when she realized something was wrong.

"I came upstairs to the inside door in the apartments and I can hear his dog, Keller, kind of crying," said Hargis-Zuerlein.

When she went inside, she found Stott on the floor. He had been lying there for seven hours.

"My medical bracelet had cut into my wrist... I'd been laying there so long," Stott said.

Stott was taken to the hospital, where he spent two weeks recovering from a flu-related fever. During that time, Hargis-Zuerlein took in Keller and cared for her with her husband.

She and the dog even made trips to the hospital when Stott started to improve.

"Having her there for that time, snuggling with her, to give her up was really hard," said Hargis-Zuerlein. "But I knew that Derrick loves her and she takes care of him and this is where she needed to be."

Keller is back home now with Stott but got to reunite with her temporary caretaker on Thursday.

Now, the relationship between the two humans is closer than ever, thanks to one very lovable dog.

"You know, she's kind of my girl. And I'm not married, so she's kind of my little honey. I don't know what I'd do without her," Stott said about his dog.

KENNEBUNK, Maine —

With working from home and the stress of the pandemic, it seems like the lines between work life and home life are more blurred these days. A Maine counselor is offering some help.

Anush Hansen has been dealing with a situation familiar to many parents.

"He's a very resourceful kiddo, but, 'Where's my paper?' 'I lost the signal' 'I need a snack,'" said Hansen.

But finding a work-life balance is her specialty. She is a career and wellness counselor based in Kennebunk.

"When clients say, 'I dread going to work' or 'I’m just trying to survive through the end of the day or through the end of the week,' that's not really how our lives are supposed to be," she said.

With this pandemic, her clients needed her more during a time when they couldn't meet. So she designed a tool anyone can use at home.

"During the day, I would sit at my table, my perch, and focus on the card sort," she said.

A card sort assessment is often used by counseling professionals to help you organize your thoughts. The deck of cards lists career and personal priorities that you sort into what's most important to you.

"A lot of times clients will do a card sort and they'll be like, 'Oh my gosh, no wonder I’m so emotionally exhausted,'" Hansen said.

She says it’s an interactive and tactile way to take a step back and make goals.

"It’s more of a lifelong practice where you assess day to day, week to week, year to year," she said.

You can buy a physical deck of cards or use them online through her website here.

Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. live with mental illness, and there are a number of ways to seek treatment -- from psychiatrists, who have the ability to prescribe medication, to psychologists, therapists, and counselors.  

"There's a varying spectrum of ways that you can approach dealing with things like anxiety, depression, substance use disorders," explained Dr. Eric French, Medical Director of Adult Psychiatry at the Medical Center of Aurora. "Sometimes that involves medications if it's warranted. Some people are able to get by with just some therapy. There's cognitive behavioral therapy. There’s dialectical behavioral therapy, there’s motivational therapy, interpersonal, there are so many different types. And the reason that's encouraging for our patients out there is is that we will tailor-fit what you need to you."

Dr. Flavia DeSouza a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at Howard University explained that psychotherapy can do any number of things, including helping us regulate our emotions.

"Particular skills that are taught, it may help us to slow down our thoughts to understand what is actually going on in our minds, and how it is affecting our behavior and our feelings," Dr. DeSouza said. "It may help us to name our feelings. Many of us just go through life, without actually knowing what's going on inside of us. It may help us to learn how to change our behavior, or thinking or feeling — so that we can function in a healthier way."

Regardless of the method you start with, remember that it may take time to find the right fit or the right mental health professional. 

"You don't have to stick with this, the first therapist that you find, sometimes there's not that match," said Nii Addy, a Neuroscientist, and Host of the Yale University Podcast, Addy Hour. "So there's no there's no shame in saying, Okay, this person is not quite working for me, I'm gonna move on to the next."

A good place to start that search is findtreatment.gov or to learn more about the various types of treatment, check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness at nami.org.

Amber Strong at Newsy first reported this.