
The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and the virus is here to stay. As we start to come out of lockdown and adjust to our ‘new normal’, it’s natural that you may be reflecting on how your practice can continue to operate.
Most private practitioners switched to remote working; either by phone on video sessions and for a lot of us, this was a step into the unknown. For me, my training was entirely geared towards online working and having experienced ‘video conferences’ during my previous corporate career, I didn’t feel this was something that would sit well with me for my counselling practice. A few weeks before the lockdown started, I had an enquiry from a client who wanted to work online. I referred the enquiry on, stating that ‘I didn’t work online’. How those words would come back to haunt me! Only a short time later, I was in the process of switching all my clients to zoom sessions.

No-one could’ve seen this coming and the world went into crisis mode. As the weeks wore on, it became increasingly obvious that this wasn’t a case of battening down the hatches and simply waiting out the storm. The effects of this virus will continue to be felt for many months and years to come. It has forever changed our world.
Since the lockdown and the move to remote working I had a significantly decreased client load and there were varying degrees of success with the clients who had made the switch. Oce the lockdown measures were eased, I took some time to read through the government guidelines and the BACP advice. I realised that counsellors were never formally instructed to cease working face to face and where there was a valid reason (ie: client not responding to remote working) we could have continued to see clients throughout the lockdown.
As there was no formal instruction to close, this meant that there would be no ‘green light’ for us to resume. The decision of when to restart our in person sessions is up to us. The question becomes ‘how do I know when it’s the right time to restart face to face sessions?’.
The answer isn’t straight forward. It’s a question of judgement that we all need to think about for ourselves. There is no ‘one size fits all approach’. We each need to think about our own personal circumstances and make the decision for ourselves. There are many things to take into account such as our own personal risk factors (including those of our household), contacting your professional indemnity insurance provider to check whether they have any restrictions, understanding the government guidelines and ensuring they can be followed.

The Risk versus Reward equation is a delicate balance and one that will be different from each individual. What’s right for one practitioner, may not be right for another.
The Risk versus Reward equation is a delicate balance and one that will be different from each individual. What’s right for one practitioner, may not be right for another.
Our Risk Assessment In Private Practice workshop is designed to help you understand the process of risk assessment and how to apply this effectively to your practice. Click the link to find out more about the workshop and when it’s running.