COVID-19 arrived and has temporarily changed our lives in many ways. Actually, it has probably also changed our lives permanently in some ways too. One of those changes has been the addition of teletherapy to my practice. I’ll admit I was never all that interested to incorporate it into my practice before COVID-19. I enjoy sharing space with clients in my office and working towards therapy goals together in the same physical space. We often work through some hard things and doing that through a screen didn’t seem like it would feel natural to me. I have to admit though, teletherapy and online counseling has pleasantly surprised me. While it’s not the best fit for everyone, it has allowed me to stay connected with my clients during a time where we couldn’t be in the office. Through teletherapy I have been able to continue meeting with clients and working through this time of change and continuing our work together. The simplicity of meeting clients in the comfort of their own home has been very welcomed at times. I’ve been able to meet pets, see important crafts, toys, or watch clients play instruments that normally wouldn’t be part of our time together. Some clients have also expressed the ease of not worrying if they are running late, or having to make time for commuting to the office for sessions. I’ve also enjoyed the ability of being more available to my clients since I’ve been living in “my office” and it’s been easy to run into my “office” upstairs in my room if a client wants an extra session or needs to reschedule. There have been many positives and I’m thankful for that. As I write this, I’m in the process of working on a transition plan so that I can to return to the office to see clients who prefer the option of face-to-face sessions. I hope to be able to open my office for those clients sometime in July. I’m also willing to continue teletherapy for clients who prefer that option. I’m sure that there will be a learning curve of having sessions while wearing masks, but I’m also confident that we will work through it and find benefits in returning to the office if that’s a better option for clients.
Recently, I have had some inquiries from prospective clients and some have been hesitant to start therapy via telehealth. The mystery of what it looks like and how it will feel is sometimes a road block for some wanting to start therapy. Because of this, I decided to make some videos to show what the platform looks like and to answer a few questions about privacy. I hope if you are interested in starting therapy, but have some reservations about counseling through a screen, these videos help answer some questions or ease some nerves. As always, reach out with any questions you may have, I’m here to help!
The first video answers questions about privacy and the platform I use. The second video shows what the platform looks like on my end (I apologize ahead of time for repeating “appointment time” over and over).