Had anyone ever said I'd eventually move out of Utah and work in another state, I would have adamantly denied that was a possibility. My work, and the practice I created in Utah, was, and is, a huge part of my identity. But, sometimes life happens, and you are put in a position to which you must adapt.
And so, adapt I did. And also, adapt, the clients I work with, have done. It has been incredibly rewarding to have the gift of being able to continue to treat the clients I was treating in Utah. I was not sure whether telehealth would really be an effective means for treating eating disorders and PTSD, but it has been effective in the majority of cases. I believe a big part of it working, both for my clients and for myself, is the fact that I return to Utah with some regularity. There have been a handful of clients over the past two years for whom I have not felt telehealth was a viable option; those clients I have referred to in person therapy.
When I first moved, I in particular thought my days of treating adolescents might be done. In my, apparently old, brain, I thought the disconnection inherent in telehealth would not work for teenagers. However, after my first week, I realized, "Oh right. Teens spend lots of time talking to people virtually. Especially during a pandemic!," and my fears of not being able to work with teens were proven to be wrong. I have a higher portion of teen clients than ever before, in fact. A large part of that is due to working closely with an excellent physician, Dr Nikki Mihalopoulos (fortunately, she goes by Dr Nikki....cannot imagine why!). In addition, continuing to work closely with Andrea Addley, RD and Primary Children's Nutrition services has made all the difference. Whereas I am no longer able to fully "lay eyes on" my clients all the time and detect concerning changes, I have these local providers that communicate with me so well, so I am able to continue to do what I love to do.
I truly miss seeing my clients in person every week. Yes, there are positives to doing telehealth! My commute is the best ever, especially since our house is relatively small, so the walk from the bedroom to the office is quite short, LOL! California living! And as we go along, probably most clients will get a "co-therapist" bombing sessions at some point. Mao, the cat, is excellent and sticking his, ummm, self in front of the camera, or sitting behind my head and looking on, potentially judgmentally, because he's a cat. Ruckus, the aptly named Australia Shepherd, participates in session whenever delivery people dare to approach the house, and Maizy, the Bernese? Well, she actually is pretty respectful and will just camp out on the floor quietly.
I am fortunate in that the lack of commute to work and the shortened commute to participate in my hobby makes it so I can go to the barn every day. As time continues to pass, I will eventually develop a means for working with anxiety in equestrian athletes, but for now, I'm just soaking up the horse time and continuing to work with all of my Utah clients. I don't foresee building an eating disorder practice in CA anytime soon. I'd rather commit my time and energy to Utah, where there are not enough resources for eating disorder treatment, and I am ever thankful for my treatment team partners, and my clients, who allow me to do so!
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