Moving into week 6 (4/20 to 4/27), I am tired and exhausted from another weekend training. I also found myself settling into a routine in the past few Sundays. I usually ran out of the house early Sunday morning, waiting in the line outside Market Basket, hoping to get the cleaning supplies but no luck, and then, driving to Target, Walmart, and then CVS in the hunt of Lysol and Clorox, often with no luck.
I felt depressed over the weekend and decided that I can’t continue to do this routine on Sundays after another weekend of EMDR Webinar. So, I decided to give up my “Lysol & Clorox” hunt past weekend.
The positive news this week is that most of the people who stayed in therapy or returned to therapy since five weeks ago continued to stabilize.
I saw some of my clients who were first respondents, and luckily, the Flash Technique I learned in the last two weekends have been helpful to them.
The not-so-great news this week was the EMDR with some clients who haven’t gone through EMDR processing with me in the office didn’t go well. There were many reasons why their EMDR sessions didn’t go well. The main reason was this was the first time they experienced the Phase 4 processing at home, and there were many confusion, but I wasn’t there to hold their hands. The 2nd reason was there were many emotions popping up during the Phase 4 processing, and that could be overwhelming. In the meantime, I wasn’t there to hold their hands while they were experiencing these overwhelming emotions. The 3rd reason was due to privacy. Some of them didn’t have secure privacy at home, and to try out the processing was very anxiety-provoking for them. To sum up, as much as I am grateful for the Telehealth to allow me to continue to support my clients, the presence of the human contact is needed.
So, this is something to keep in mind for future reference. It would be wise to incorporate the Flash Technique for those new clients who have not yet to experience phase 4 processing in the beginning. The other takeaway is the importance of human presence. From the attachment theory perspective, I am establishing myself as a new secure attachment figure for the clients. My physical presence with them helps to develop a sense of security. Online Telehealth can only go this far.
The highlight of the week is the announcement that the school will be closed for the remaining of the school year. Many clients are concerned about how to help their children to cope with this news. As to me, I also start to wonder if I should take a break.
Here are some interesting articles about the effectivenss of Telehealth that you might be interested in reading.
Telemedicine: The Good, the Bad, the Pleasantly Surprising
