Teletherapy sucked for me. Video was worse, far worse. We are now meeting in person but have to stay 6 ft apart and wear masks. I will gladly take this over the other options. In an odd sequence of events T ended up with masks I made (he ordered from a volunteer group I donated to). For me it was really comforting to find him in a mask I was pretty sure I made. We talked a lot about it this week as it could muddy the waters rather badly as far as boundaries. We did an experiment where he put on a disposable store bought mask and it made me less comfortable but still OK. His using masks I made opened up a whole lot for us to discuss this week and it proved to be really beneficial with lots of stuff to come back to. But, back on topic, I am face blind and focus on a few key features of a face but largely on mannerisms to recognize people. For T I focus on the outside corners of his eyes and how he holds his mouth and jaw. I cannot see the last two at all now and the corners of his eyes are a bit different so it has been different but OK. If I did more from a persons face I might struggle more. For some clients, even those that don’t lip read, one of the masks with a clear piece might help.
It is awkward for both of us to not end with a hug. T has tried to find substitutes but we discovered quickly that I trigger too easily with physical gestures that are outside of my norm. After some super bumpy roads we have discovered that until I get more comfortable with the new restrictions or until it is safe to go back to normal our work is going to have to be very different. We were pretty deep into trauma work when this hit and I can’t safely do that work with social distancing. We are moving into a psycho educational and coaching space that allows us to make a different kind of progress but continue working.