Is anyone still doing telehealth?

It is not yet known in the UK what will happen to our infection rate. Numbers might be falling, but we have not yet seen the impact of our restrictions being lifted. Restrictions were lifted on 19th July, less than two weeks ago, so current data do not reflect the inevitable rise in rates which will occur as a result of the maskless, unrestricted, indoor mixing of large crowds. I am not commenting on what might happen the US (or in your therapy sessions!) but I would be wary of looking the UK as an indicator.

Oh, good point. Of course, here, restrictions were lifted long ago, and it was all "summer of freedom" or whatever for the vaccinated (including me, not that I was going all crazy or anything, just eating inside at non-busy hours on occasion). And I think it lured us into a false sense of safety. (Well, I mean, a sizeable portion of Americans apparently don't believe Covid exists, so...)


I hope your numbers stay down.

Indefinately Telehealth appointments as she moved close to 3 hours away in March.

Still telehealth - we had in-person sessions for maybe 2 months last summer, but after the 2nd lockdown my therapist stopped renting the office indefinitely, at least until the covid situation stabilizes (but when will that happen?)

I asked my current T if the new one does in person. She didn’t know but thinks she may do a mix of both telehealth and in person. She says that a lot of the offices in the area are starting to go back to virtual. So I guess it’s likely I will be going back too.

L still does a mix of in-person and telehealth. Plus now, when she's out of town, she does telehealth instead of canceling appointments.

I don't remember if I answered on this thread already but yes I do telehealth with Dr. K and with pdoc.

I saw my T in person for about a month, and now we are back to virtual 😞

I love telehealth.

Sounds like I'll be returning to telehealth next week, unfortunately, after an in-person session tomorrow. I completely understand why, as our Covid numbers are going up. And my T said he's disappointed to be doing this as well, but feels that he needs to. I just hope we can resume in person much more quickly than 15 months this time...He did say before that he'd be open to occasional outdoor sessions, weather-permitting.

This just really gets to me because I obviously can’t go without therapy. But telehealth sessions just mess with me so badly. It’s a catch 22 or something.

Not to mention I spent $175 on new fall clothes I won’t be able to wear anywhere.

Since she is a therapist, whom you've spoken to about personal things, why do you think she'd judge you negatively for asking her if she will go to Zoom therapy sessions due to Covid-19? That is the only way for you to know: ask her.

Dwelling on "what if's" only feeds your anxiety, correct? So, instead of feeding your anxiety with worse-case-scenario thinking, just ask your therapist what the future appointments with her will be.

Why do Zoom therapy sessions mess with you so badly? That they don't seem real if they're over video? Just to give you some perspective: when astronauts fly into outer space, they can't talk to Kennedy Space Station face to face -- because they're in outer space. So, they rely on video and audio to communicate.

Or, what about autistic people or deaf or blind people who rely on alternate forms of communication with hearing, neurotypical, or people who can see?

Instead of rejecting change and labeling it "bad," reframe it to a neutral mindset of "this is how it will be moving forward and it won't affect my therapy sessions because it's the same therapist."

I use telehealth zoom therapy sessions and have no problem. It's actually more enjoyable for me, b/c I'm at home where I am comfortable.

Plus, nobody expected this pandemic to last 2 years and maybe another year. All you can do is learn to adapt. Adapt to change. Instead of rejecting it. If you can learn to adapt to change, I think you'll feel less anxious.

Therapy is hardly comparable to astronauts communicating with Earth. Therapy, for a lot of us, is an interpersonal relationship and a place we go to talk about traumas and other difficult, painful topics. I get that therapy is not that for everyone and I think it's great that some people find video sessions better for whatever reason (more convenient, more comfortable, etc). But not everyone feels the same way about it and telling someone to just reframe it isn't very helpful. Video therapy does affect the sessions and the relationship for some people. It's one thing to come to some sort of acceptance about the situation, but that doesn't mean having feelings about it is wrong. I've been doing in-person sessions for most of the pandemic, so I have no skin in the game, but I do remember how doing video sessions affected me when we were doing them and it was definitely harder to maintain that connection with my therapist.

For me it’s sort of a privacy issue. Even if people can’t hear me I’m still worried they can. So I’m often sitting on the floor of a dimly lit walk in closet doing sessions. I can’t be as open as I want to because I’m worried someone will hear. I hold back a lot. Even with headphones.

I did ask my current therapist if the one she is switching me to in September does in person and she wasn’t sure. That’s when she made the comment about other offices in the area starting to go back to virtual.

Actually I did have a very productive therapy session in my moms car one time. It was below freezing but I had a blanket, a hat, and my jacket with a hoodie under it and no one could hear me. I still had wifi. Maybe I’ll do that instead of the closet.

Since the libraries are open and have study rooms aka quiet rooms, you could definitely reserve your therapy hour time in a room like that. Where you will have 100% privacy b/c you'll be in a small room with a table/desk and chair. I've done that too.

My intentions with my comparisons wasn't to belittle your feelings or anyone else who prefers in-person therapy sessions for the interpersonal affect vs. video which is not in person. My intention was to show you that sometimes, we have to adapt to situations beyond our control, which as unpleasant as it is sometimes, is the only choice we have.

If privacy is your main concern, brainstorm places like library study rooms where you can go to do your zoom therapy sessions if/when that's your only option. Hopefully you will be able to continue your in person therapy sessions, even if it's with a new therapist.

I didn’t think you were belittling my feelings. I didn’t take offense at all to your post. I’m sorry if I came off that way. I just type in a weird style that can be confusing. You should see me try to actually speak to people.

Based on rumors I’m hearing that may or may not be true, I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to telehealth pretty soon. I’m not too worried about it anymore. My room looks pretty cool if I choose to do sessions in there. Then there’s the car and the closet as well. I’m also so overmedicated on Valium everyday I think it’s easier to be sedated in my own house then to be a mess the way I was last time. They notice less in telehealth. I guess I’m just kind of accepting that it’s gonna happen and there’s nothing I can do.

How are people coping though? The separation has reopened all of the attachment/transference wounds, without providing adequate containment. It's getting to the point where therapy is becoming the problem in of itself. I'm so sick of it, nothing is being resolved. I've been seeing my therapist for over 10 years, so I don't want to terminate because of covid but I can't do this for much longer.

It’s been really hard. My T tried to get me to remember feeling safe or feeling something like togetherness but it’s mostly faded away over the last 19months. I’ve been working with my T for over 7 years and really have no desire to switch, but it can feel excruciating. I’m starting in-person classes (to become a T) at a school just blocks from my T’s office and I think it’s going to be really painful to be so close and yet so far away.