Is Anyone Having In Person Sessions?

I can't understand much about the world's inconsistencies at the moment.

I understand what you're saying, but if the logic is that because bars are open, everything else should be too, I don't really agree. It's kind of like when people say well I can go off and die for my country at 18, so we should lower the legal age for x, y, and z to 18. To me the issue is that you can go off and die for your country at age 18, not that you have to be older to do x, y, and z - so this approach to the issue would make everything even worse. Instead of being only partially screwed up, it would be completely screwed up.

As far as teletherapy goes, though, I hadn't heard of therapy being literally not allowed to happen in person. In my state at least, I think it was up to individual therapists. Therapy is considered healthcare, and there was certainly a lot of pressure on therapists to do it remotely, but I'm not sure that a therapist continuing to do remote when other things have opened is because they are actually being restricted.

I keep thinking that if I somehow (despite my taking very few risks according to guidelines) were to choose to meet with my T in person (once he allows it) and unknowingly (like asymptomatic) infect him and cause him to be hospitalized or die (or for that to happen to his wife and/or son), that I could never live with myself. I feel the same about seeing my parents or in-laws in person, too. H has done some distanced meetups with my D and his mom (outside, more than 6 feet apart), but I fear anything closer for a long time.

Well, that's the best and most honest statement I've heard in a long time.

I'm confused, I think...not exactly sure what your first paragraph means.

I'm saying that - in my state, anyway - it seems azz-backwards to open retail, restaurants, salons, gyms, etc. - but healthcare remains largely inaccessible. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Keep healthcare facilities open. Then slowly re-open the other places.

As for therapists...mine isn't in private practice. She and my pdoc work in a clinic. So they have to do what the clinic tells them to do. For the foreseeable future, the clinic is shut down; open only for telehealth and emergency situations (such as dental emergencies).

So what seems crazy to me is that I can go shopping, I can get a haircut, I can dine out, I can hang out at a bar - yet I cannot see my GP, my dentist, or my mental health team.

You know...I think your perspective is extremely thoughtful and wise. Thank you for sharing it.

I'm rather ashamed that I've not considered that, myself. I've thought only about how I dislike teletherapy.

We should all be as considerate as you are. Seriously.

tele therapy indefinitely

Yes I have considered this exact thing, and discussed it with my T. it’s what has made me stay away from my older family and friends. However, my T has chosen to take this risk with me as well hasn’t he. So I guess we have a mutual understanding. Until we have a vaccine, this risk will always be there. I could never hide away until then.

I just had my first in person session for 4 months last Friday. My country is down to about 20-30 new cases a day, our population is about 8.5 million.

It was a tiny bit different than usual, but not much. Near the entrance, there was hand sanitizer provided for people who don't have their own. There was also a disinfectant spray in the bathroom, plus gloves to clean/do something like open the window, window was open anyways though.

T and I both wore a mask (it's mandatory if you're in an enclosed space with close contact for more than 15 minutes), and he put the client's seat as far away from his as possible. He cleans the seat as well as door handles after every client.

It was very nice to see him again. We only talked for 15 minutes a week on the phone, no video, for the last few months. I didn't really mind the masks, I am wearing one whenever I go out anyways and I almost never look at him, so it's fine. When he greeted me in the beginning, he didn't wear a mask and I could see his whole face, which was also nice.
And there were no handshakes at the beginning/end of session, but that was fine as well, I was happy enough to be able to see him again.

We're planning on doing in person again for the time being, but of course if things get worse again, we might switch back to phone sessions.

It might be worth noting that it's been legal for him to see people in person for almost two months now, but he only decided to go back about three weeks ago, and he started with a reduced number of people to figure out how to best do things himself.

Not as yet. Am waiting on a 6 session talk study but as as yet delayed.

I could have had one with my psychiatrist, I think. but she says I can meet with her via the computer set-up from now on, since I live almost an hour away. That's fine with me.

Just wanted to be clear, my comment wasn't meant to judge you or anyone else doing or wanting in-person sessions. It was more trying to defend T's who might not be willing to do in person yet. It's an individual decision on so many levels. I'm also not heading out to get a haircut or to eat at a restaurant anytime soon (we've been doing carryout a few times a week though), as I feel my particular area is opening up too fast. So much depends on location, personal comfort (on both the T's and client's part) with some level of risk, how video/phone sessions have been going, etc. I imagine once some T's start seeing clients in person again, they'll do a mix of in-person and telehealth for a bit.

Also, I'm not thinking about waiting for a vaccine, because who knows how long that could take or how effective it will be (like the flu shot often isn't particularly effective). It's more about seeing a consistent drop in cases in my area once things have mostly opened back up again (which started last week), having more effective treatments for the illness that considerably reduce the death rate, and/or a reliable antibody test that shows I've already had it (I have reason to suspect that H and I could have possibly had it in late February, when he had a flu-like illness shortly after he'd traveled to New York, and I had a weird illness then, too, though in my case only matching some of the symptoms).

This is how I feel too. I couldn't cope with ongoing teletherapy and I have utmost respect for people who can or have no other choice. Me and T made this decision between ourselves after weighing up the risk and we are both happy with it. I was the only in-person client to start with since lockdown but not sure if that's still the case. I think it's a very individual decision for a therapist to make and neither the therapist or the client should be judged for wanting to meet in person, therapy is an essential contact for many people (even BACP acknowledges this on their website) so there are many different factors playing into such a decision that I can't imagine anyone would take lightly, even in the middle of a pandemic.

This is not a question of people taking decisions lightly or with thought. This is about instances of people being able to convince themselves that they are an exception to the rules which are in place for all. Meeting with others (when remote contact is possible even if it is not preferable) increases the risk of future waves of the virus. This is not judgement, it is epidemiological fact.

BACP are very clear in their guidance: "Our advice, which takes account of general advice to the public across all the nations, is that you should continue working remotely with clients wherever possible. The virus is still just as contagious and potentially fatal while there is no vaccine". If remote working isn't possible, there might be argument for face to face work. If remote working is simply not the preferred means of contact, I am struggling to see what the justification can be.

As much as it goes against our liberal outlook, this situation needs wider consideration than just our personal preference and pain.

Someone advising something does not make it a rule. Where I am located, mental health is still considered an essential service, so if my therapist and I mutually agree to meet in person, we're not breaking any rules. I obviously can't speak to whether mental health is considered essential where you are located.

We are referring to government policy, law, public health measures and guidance from one of the main British counselling bodies. It's hardly advice over the garden fence from your aunty Gertrude.

As I said, I can't speak to the rules in the UK. And your quote from the BACP quite literally uses the word 'advice' which indicates there is an element of choice allowed. I can only speak to what's going on in my state in the US and that is that mental health is considered essential and if both client and therapist choose to meet in person, no rules are being broken.

I was to end my life at the beginning of the pandemic. I contacted my T and he said to see him in person, no problem. I don't see myself as special or anything, I needed something and the rules here in the UK said I could have it, it saved me, im grateful.

At the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time...I do not understand how it is that all businesses have been re-opened almost everywhere (exceptions that I know of are NYC and Los Angeles), yet therapy in person remains off limits.

To me, it seems obvious that the decision comes down to $$$$. We "need" restaurants and stores to open (the government doesn't want to pay people when people are not working) - but psychotherapy is a "luxury."

For many people therapy is not about "personal preference and pain." It sounds like you believe that mental health treatment is not essential?... I am genuinely confused.

I am waiting to find out what happens in a few weeks, when we see how things turn out for the masses of protestors who have gathered during the past weeks. If there is a spike in covid cases, okay. If there is not, I'm going to feel that something is grossly amiss with how the covid situation is being handled.

Have there been spikes in places where crowds gathered on Memorial Day? I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it.

Everything is open here, including hair salons and water parks. I don't see a therapist myself, so I'm not sure if in-person sessions are available, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. I do support groups, and we are still meeting online.

I agree. I feel like this is a minefield to step in to, but why is mental health considered less important than physical health? Mental health can kill you the same that this virus can. Suicide or virus, you're still dead. I think it's well documented that loneliness and isolation cause physical symptoms. The pandemic has exacerbated loneliness and isolation that some people were already experiencing.

I'm not suggesting that people just irresponsibly start doing things, but if you've considered your actual circumstances, how many stores you visit and how often, do you wear a mask and wash your hands, are there other people in your home, are you WFH, etc., for some the risk is pretty minimal that either you or your therapist are going to infect each other.

I just started to see my therapist last week. I did have to wear a mask in the waiting room. She is seeing me in a bigger room and she let me take the mask off. We where doing the sessions on the phone since March 19th but it got too hard. She is able to see me in person from now on and maybe back in her office in a few weeks.

I agree.

And whether I agree or not doesn't really matter. The fact is that people with severe mental illness or history of trauma are high-risk. I'm angry at the way the pandemic is being handled, in general.

As usual, the last people to have a voice are people with mental illness. Always. Behind race, behind anything. Mental illness is still grossly misunderstood and, by many, considered a low priority because (after all) those of us with mental illness can make it better if we really want to.

Lord help us all.

I sure hope so.