Perspective

I texted my husband this morning and was telling him how upset I was at myself for not being better at returning emails to clients and doing follow up’s like I should. I have been getting at least 4-5 emails a week from new perspective clients seeking information or services. Lately, I have been struggling with keeping up with the emails or messages back.

J’s response to me was “ Yeah. And I’ve contacted plenty of therapists and gotten zero response. It’s not unusual”

Wow, that really hit me. I am not the only one, but I don’t want to be one. At the end of the day, I am a small business owner and this post is not to justify that I haven’t returned emails it is to give perspective that as therapists we are people too.

A typical day for me starts at 6am, I get up with the dog and take her out feed her etc and make a cup of coffee. I use the first few minutes to just try and wake up ( which isn’t easy, we will get to that later). I check my personal email, scroll through facebook, maybe play a mindless game on my phone because I know once 7:45am hits I am on.

7:45am, I start waking up the kids who are now 14 and in high school virtually because of the pandemic. One kid is a little easier to get up than the other but that is life. I then make breakfast for one and listen to the frustration in her voice about school being vitural and work that has been missed. You see, S has depression and anxiety. I work hard to get the other one up and on a good day that happens by 8:15 and well on a day like today 8:25am.

School starts for them at 8:30am, so they get settle into their respective areas. In the meantime I am on dog duty becasue the surgery she had two months ago still hasn’t healed and she can’t be alone. In that thirty minute window, I get myself ready for my day which typically starts at 9am. I check what payments have come through, bill sessions from the previous day and check my work email to see if any clients have cancelled or need anything.

Sessions start at 9am. Today for instance I have sessions 9am-1pm and then 3pm-6pm. I have two new clients and two returning clients as well as three regular clients. So that is seven clients today. I have a break from 1pm-3pm which is when I usually eat lunch and take the dog for walk. Also the time I help the kids with anything that might have come up during the day with school.

In between clients when I have time, I am working with S on emotional regulation and usually trying to just stay calm and help her stay calm with whatever is going on during the day as well as just being a mom and wife.

Tonight I end at 6pm because my 6pm client had to cancel. J usually cooks dinner and we eat dinner and then him and I take a walk. By 8 or 9pm I am usually taking one kid for a ride for about an hour and then the other and I am home by 9 or 10pm. I then try to check my email again to make sure all is good.

Some days I fall asleep by 11pm some days like last night I don’t fall asleep until 2am. Then I get up and I start it all over. So, when I don’t return the email for a client looking for services I promise I am not ignoring you.

I want to help you, it actually pains me to know that I have not returned phone calls and that I am slacking at the one thing I love. Working from home has become a new challenge, a challenge in figuring out and maintaining boundaries even for a therapist, how to have resilient kids and a family life while still providing the best quality of care that I can give my clients.

So, know that I am here. I hear you, I am listening and I am trying my hardest to answer the email and the phone calls. I promise and I just ask that you be patient.