The Impact on Us of Switching to Telehealth
All too often , LCMHCs carry pressure to be well-adjusted and unaffected by change . suit your level ( s ) of hybridity of practice . Repetition matters . Give yourself time and space to find a new groove .
The Impact on Us of Switching to Telehealth
SPECIAL FOCUS
How to keep you rself — and your practice — thriving
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or autonomy , when so much was taken ( and so much was expected ) for so long ?
LCMHCs all too often carry pressure to be well-adjusted and unaffected by change . There is an idealization about mental health counselors ( that we may also entertain ourselves ) that we live and operate in a state of perpetual wellness ; that somehow , we can and should ( and have ) transcend ( ed ) our humanity such that we can regulate ourselves and others from a place on ( anxiety-free ) high . Working in a home with lived-in messes and kids or roommates who forget we are working , or service people who don ’ t understand “ I ’ m in a meeting !” doesn ’ t permit that idealization to remain for long .
For many of us there has been a collapse that ’ s occurred all around us , and we ’ re trying to sort out the internal ramifications of it . Hearing our fellow LCMHCs say they have seriously considered leaving the field is both sobering and not surprising .
Reflections and Considerations
If stories of recovery from the Spanish Flu ( the Great Influenza pandemic of the early 20th Century ) are informative to any degree , we can expect that these next few years will linger with higher levels of anxiety in society at large . Since we , as LCMHCs , are a part of that same society , our humanness and limitations as providers will remain front and center . One thing we know , in light of the U . S . Surgeon General ’ s recent declaration that loneliness has now reached pandemic levels here in the United States ( see the Surgeon General ’ s 2023 report “ Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation “), is that our connection to ourselves , to each other , to our clients , and to our identities is under revision and , for some , underwhelming . When we disconnect , our experiences of health downgrade , because health is found in belonging .
“ This is probably terrible or not appropriate ” served as preamble to one of our participants talking about a habit that she had begun of cleaning her own bathroom when meeting with a client by phone . This activity helped this provider to focus , given the absence of visual information ( stimulation ) from the phone . These recent years of rapid growth and change invite all of us to take a second look at what we see as “ terrible ” or “ appropriate ” or both . Can we bear clients peering into our homes , peeking at the walls behind us and wondering about what they see ?
Whether we need to retrieve our forgotten chargers from another room , or we have to soothe a crying infant in an off-camera crib , do we have or make room in our counseling hours for our humanness and limitations to be part of the intersubjective experience ? Can we tolerate holding space for clients to see us as needy and clumsy and maybe even having all-too-common difficulties managing our own lives ? Questions like these offer LCMHCs an opportunity to review our own image ( s ) of ourselves , and likewise our ethics of disclosure .
Five Suggestions
We hope the questions peppered throughout this article are as informative and curiosity-generating as any recommendations might be . But , for those who prefer statements to questions , here goes :
1 . Establish new rituals : Rituals hold us all . Given how many of our rituals have been altered or entirely ruptured in some way , take some time to establish new rhythms that
All too often , LCMHCs carry pressure to be well-adjusted and unaffected by change . suit your level ( s ) of hybridity of practice . Repetition matters . Give yourself time and space to find a new groove .
2 . Know your limits : A pandemic can provide lots of opportunities for LCMHCs to acknowledge the extent of our expertise , interests , tolerance , and hours in a day . If you are unwilling to see and set your own limits , anticipate higher risks of burnout or compromised work . Limits invite relationship , and we ’ re all in this together .
3 . Tell your own stories of lived experience : We didn ’ t realize how much we needed such storytelling ourselves until our research process ( es ) were underway . We hope you find similar awakenings and create chances to hear yourself tell your own stories of change , transition , grief and loss , recovery and restoration .
4 . Stay connected : Health is found in belonging . When we disconnect from others ( and therefore ourselves ), our work lives suffer because our unmet need for connection ( s ) in our personal lives can compromise our professional efforts and actions . Remember that you are a person before you are a professional . Find the ways to connect that work best for you .
5 . Seek additional training opportunities : Providing effective virtual care can be challenging regardless of our experience as LCMHCs . This is where effective training and continuous consultation might help us to transmit our presence and care for clients via telehealth as effectively as we might in person — which research suggests is quite possible .
The Advocate Magazine 2024 , Issue # 1 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) ww . amhca . org 19