I looked at the BACP website (the regulatory body for therapists in the UK), and I see that they updated their guidance yesterday., following Boris’s latest announcement about lockdown easing. I wonder if anyone’s T is going resume in person sessions? I don’t want to bring it up with my T as for all I know she could have health conditions that make her vulnerable. I’ve started to loathe FaceTime sessions.

[emmaleemochizuki]

My T said not until August, just so it's safer and more consistent for everyone.

Thats so great that your T has said you will be resuming in person sessions in August. I’ve been wondering if I’ll be doing FaceTime sessions for months. Will you and your T wear masks? I also don’t t want to wear a mask for a face to face session.

[Lostislost]

I've been having in person sessions in UK. We don't wear masks. He has hand sanitizer and cleaning stuff in his room, the window is open and we sit 2 metres apart.

[Merope]

He keeps saying "soon" as in a few weeks time....but the last time he said this was a few weeks ago. I suspect he doesn't know. The website of the clinic where I see him hasn't updated their COVID-19 info since May (when they said no face-to-face appointments are available). I'm really hoping it will be in the next couple of weeks or so. I know my T isn't too worried about the virus personally and said that he will be one of the early ones to return.

Originally Posted by Lostislost

I've been having in person sessions in UK. We don't wear masks. He has hand sanitizer and cleaning stuff in his room, the window is open and we sit 2 metres apart.

You’re so lucky. Do you see him at an office of at his home? I see my T in an annex to her home.

[Lostislost]

I do feel lucky to see him in person. It's a clinic type place, other people use it but there hasn't been anyone else there. Ah I can see why it may be a little longer if you see her at home, fingers crossed you can see her soon!

[KLL85]

I was seeing my short term T through my work face to face again but that has now been stopped due to local lockdown. When I contacted the T who I was planning to start long term work with just before lockdown, they have said they will not be returning to face to face until all social distance measures have been removed, so unlikely before spring time next year. He also said I would be lucky to find a T that is willing to do face to face currently. I’ve heard from a few other people who have said their Ts are also not considering a return to face to face until social distancing measures are no longer needed as they think wearing masks hinders the relationship and are not willing to take the risk in not wearing one and therefore remote work is better (they seem to forget that their are a lot of people who remote sessions are not suitable for).
I think it is really going to be dependent on the individual T or clinic, but it seems as though a lot are not going to be going back to normal face to face without masks for a long while yet. It really sucks. People can go and sit in a pub surrounded by people they don’t know but can’t go to see their therapist who for most people is an essential service.

[Merope]

Originally Posted by KLL85

I was seeing my short term T through my work face to face again but that has now been stopped due to local lockdown. When I contacted the T who I was planning to start long term work with just before lockdown, they have said they will not be returning to face to face until all social distance measures have been removed, so unlikely before spring time next year.

Gosh, this sounds really worrying! Springtime next year?!

[Lonelyinmyheart]

I see my T in person - we resumed a few weeks ago. It was a decision we made together and are both happy with. I'm in the UK so it completely depends on the T/clinic. Therapists who work privately obviously have more leeway than those who work for a clinic or agency and have to follow their requirements. I really feel for all of you who still can't have face to face therapy.

I think having face-to-face sessions during a pandemic highlights the tension between individual rights and social responsibility. The greater number of individuals who follow their preference (or "need" as it is often described) for in-person contact, the greater the likelihood of ongoing transmission. The increased public health risk is seen as less important than how an individual client (or therapist) wants to behave. Ongoing transmission and notable levels of public health risk jeopardise my chances of returning to face-to-face therapy. It upsets and angers me that people are not willing to adapt individual behaviour for a greater good. I consider having face-to-face sessions the equivalent of not wearing masks. Your choices impact on me and your preferences postpone the point at which I can (safely) enjoy the same preferences which you are following. Interestingly, therapy itself centres the individual and in that sense is libertarian so I suppose it is no great surprise that therapy players will exert individual freedoms at the probable cost of others.

[MissUdy]

Originally Posted by comrademoomoo

I think having face-to-face sessions during a pandemic highlights the tension between individual rights and social responsibility. The greater number of individuals who follow their preference (or "need" as it is often described) for in-person contact, the greater the likelihood of ongoing transmission. The increased public health risk is seen as less important than how an individual client (or therapist) wants to behave. Ongoing transmission and notable levels of public health risk jeopardise my chances of returning to face-to-face therapy. It upsets and angers me that people are not willing to adapt individual behaviour for a greater good. I consider having face-to-face sessions the equivalent of not wearing masks. Your choices impact on me and your preferences postpone the point at which I can (safely) enjoy the same preferences which you are following. Interestingly, therapy itself centres the individual and in that sense is libertarian so I suppose it is no great surprise that therapy players will exert individual freedoms at the probable cost of others.

Sorry to hear you are still struggling with the situation. I understand why you were upset in the beginning, as the rules in lockdown were debatable. Now, in many countries the strict lockdown has been lifted, and businesses can run again with social distancing in place. There is no vaccine and testing suggests antibodies disappear within months anyway...so COVID-19 is probably here to stay.

We have to move on with our lives in the safest way possible using all PPE and social distancing measures, but that doesn’t mean we avoid everything until it’s ‘safe’.

Originally Posted by MissUdy

Sorry to hear you are still struggling with the situation. I understand why you were upset in the beginning, as the rules in lockdown were debatable. Now, in many countries the strict lockdown has been lifted, and businesses can run again with social distancing in place. There is no vaccine and testing suggests antibodies disappear within months anyway...so COVID-19 is probably here to stay.

We have to move on with our lives in the safest way possible using all PPE and social distancing measures, but that doesn’t mean we avoid everything until it’s ‘safe’.

If Covid is here to stay, remote working should be here to stay. I am not advocating avoiding everything, but where there are alternatives available which eliminate risk (even if those alternatives are not ideal), we should choose those alternatives because we care about the lives of others. I think it's pretty foolish to model our choices on those of businesses. Business has opened for profit, not for welfare.

And to be clear, BACP guidance remains unchanged on one basic and critical matter: therapists should continue to work remotely wherever possible.

[MissUdy]

Originally Posted by comrademoomoo

If Covid is here to stay, remote working should be here to stay. I am not advocating avoiding everything, but where there are alternatives available which eliminate risk (even if those alternatives are not ideal), we should choose those alternatives because we care about the lives of others. I think it's pretty foolish to model our choices on those of businesses. Business has opened for profit, not for welfare.

And to be clear, BACP guidance remains unchanged on one basic and critical matter: therapists should continue to work remotely wherever possible.

Some people are very lucky and have alternative ways of working remotely, with their jobs or therapy or anything else. I don’t have alternative ways of doing those things effectively (I work in medical records in a hospital, oh my, this year has been fun) so you will have to excuse my careless behaviour of moving around in the world during a pandemic, potentially spreading the virus to others and killing them while I’m just trying to earn a wage and stay alive.....yes what a thoughtless individual I must be.

[satsuma]

My T has a private practice and he’s been working from his office, but I join him by video because I prefer not to use public transport, which I would have to in order to get to his city centre office. But I think that he would see me in person if I was happy to go in.
I think that he has more leeway because he sees me privately, but I think in the NHS everyone has to follow the rules of their Trust and so probably can’t do therapy in person. Also I guess in an NHS building there are a lot more potential contacts and points of infection compared to a small private office.
Luckily for me my therapy is just a few check-ins now and I feel fine to do it via videoconference. How is everyone else finding it? I think earlier in my therapy I would have found this a lot harder, not meeting in person.

[Merope]

Does anyone have any new info on this? My t keeps saying “maybe in two weeks”, but then two/three weeks pass and no new mention of resuming face to face. I desperately want to bring it up, but am scared I’ll end up annoying him. It’s particularly hard when the internet connection reduces a potentially great session into something very painful and frustrating that leaves me feeling as though T is inaccessible.

[MoxieDoxie]

How is therapy going to feel with them in a mask and you in a mask. Ugh! I rather just say virtual.

BACP guidance has not changed: therapists should work remotely whenever possible.

[TeaVicar?]

We've been using the phone, i find it much easier than video.

He mentioned September but seeing as cases are on the rise again, I'm doubtful. I've heard that some therapists are doing in person again.

[*Beth*]

Obviously I'm a fair distance from the pond, but just thought I'd toss something into this conversation.

We (California) were the first state in the US to shut down in March. Our covid cases were low and remained stable. We were very pleased. Along about late May some people began putting immense pressure on our governor to reopen. The weather was gorgeous, people were complaining mightily about needing to do things (poor babies)

The governor thought he was doing the best thing and reopened the state.

It all went insane. The cases climbed, deaths climbed, and we now have the highest number of covid cases in the entire nation. All non-essential businesses have had to shut down again.

No one here is expecting things to ease up before spring of 2021. I know that if I see my therapist in person by then I'll be extremely lucky. If I'm honest, I expect it will be a full year before I see her in person again - if ever, since she might retire by then.

I can hardly stand teletherapy, but it's better than nothing. All I'm saying is, don't be in a rush to get back to f2f therapy. Better to be patient than regret.

[KLL85]

One of the private practice clinics near me is opening up as of next week but that seems to be the only place at the moment. It also seems that Counselling and psychotherapy clients will fall under the new legislation brought in on 8th August for it to be mandatory to wear a mask, meaning any face to face session will by law have to take place with masks being worn.

My T told me recently that she’s shielding. Now I know there’s no chance of in person sessions for a long time.

[nottrustin]

Not on the UK but my T said a couple of weeks ago she is planning that she may not return to her office until next summer. My state shut down very early before COVID really hot us. We watched other states and were proactive. So numbers were low. Many people think it has been a waste of times because the numbers are so low. So whole we have been very slowly reopening many people are angry and doing things that have been discouraged.