Well I always said that blogging on this site wasn’t necessarily my strong suit, but certainly not writing an entry for almost three years pretty much proves this point! But also, I blame the fact that my last entry was around the time we started planning to get our first dog so it also clearly shows how much time and energy that process took, and here we are almost 3 years later and now we have two dogs in our household.
In any events, a lot has happened in this time, as I mentioned above I now have two dogs in my house. I have always been an animal lover but wow, when you get one and then two dogs of your own it really converts you into being an ultra animal fan! Definitely happy having them at home, even more so with Covid.
Business related, certainly in the past almost year, so much has changed. Covid hit last year and truly changed the therapy landscape more than I could have ever planned for or anticipated. Last March I have a vivid memory of the second week, when things around the world started to escalate quickly and on March 11 I had to swiftly convert all my paperwork to be completed online, in addition to having a secure platform to provide virtual sessions for clients. Two days later on March 13 my entire practice went virtual, with a whole two days of planning!
Admittedly, the first couple of weeks, to be honest, first couple months I was truly out of my element providing therapy through my computer screen. I think my first session with a client I was using my hands a lot more than needed and it probably was a bit awkward, but the client was understanding and admittedly focused on other world events outside of my awkward hand gestures during our virtual session.
From there, as the world continued to deal with and process the pandemic, and everyone adjusted to new social and societal norms, so did I with the virtual therapy sessions. If you had asked me a year ago, I am pretty sure I had a policy of no telephone or video sessions, and how interestingly that changed pretty much overnight, to now, almost a year later and my entire practice is virtual.
I feel I have adapted well to providing therapy virtually to clients. After getting over the initial change and awkward hand gestures, over a short time I was able to feel comfortable with the computer, therefore it didn’t feel like such a barrier as it initially did. While I do miss elements of being in an office, I do enjoy providing therapy this way. I also feel, as many clients tell me, the convenience of being able to meet virtually, at a time more convenient for them that doesn’t include commuting to my office has made receiving treatment much easier for them as well.
The pandemic has changed the therapy world forever, and I welcome this change. So much so, that actually as of Jan 1, 2021 I no longer have an office! Which is still a wild concept to me but with how things are in the world at the moment, its not needed. So, for now, I am a virtual therapist and I am grateful to continue to be providing therapy. I will get back to an office some day, but virtual appointments will forever be an option for all of my clients given the change in therapy from this year and the ultimate convenience of it.
The pandemic has taken a huge toll of everyone’s mental health, no doubt. The amount of isolation that can come with either social distancing and working remotely can be very challenging and the amount of depression and anxiety I have seen in the past year is certainly a reflection of that.
Stay tuned for my next blog, (I promise it will not be in three years), and I will talk more about how to continue to cope and deal with the pandemic and these challenging times in our history.