One year ago today, I received news that the county I lived in had its first confirmed community transmission. (I think we had community transmission well before then, but the governor only authorized testing for people who had travelled.) Because some of my clients or their family members might fall into the high-risk category, and because I was at increased risk of exposure due to my husband working in a hospital setting, I went to my boss and told him that I was requesting to work from home. He’s great, so it wasn’t an issue.
I vividly remember calling clients to give them their Zoom IDs and telling them, “I’ll probably be back to in person by the end of May at the latest.”
To be fair, I didn’t specify which May.
Today I am actually in the office to finish up some paperwork before I take next week off, but I am still about 90% telehealth with no end in sight. The APA formally recommends continuing telehealth as much as possible, with exceptions if both the therapist and client are fully vaccinated, but with my caseload almost entirely comprised of people under the age of 16, this doesn’t apply to me. Fortunately, I really enjoy working from home.
In the last year, I started this blog, self-published two books, and started doing speaking engagements with PESI. I am so excited about all the friendships and professional connections I have been able to make through Twitter, and I’ve loved being able to share information about mental health to countless people.
Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this journey. Stay tuned for my next project, a coloring book for therapists promoting humor and self-care.