Blended Approaches To Work: What Has The Past Year Taught Us?

It's now been over a year since the pandemic began and everything changed. We're in a different time, but we're also in a different space, a world where - for a long time - everything had to happen virtually. That was, and still is, exhausting, but it's also an opportunity. I believe there are some valuable insights we can take from this experience and keep in mind as we move forward.

Cut online meetings in half - but keep some in person.

It is clear that people want to keep meetings online - which is great! However, this seems to still be due to a mix of feeling like the pandemic isn't really over, alongside enjoying time saved by not having to travel for different meetings. I feel it, you feel it: meetings about a particular item can be reduced to half the usual time when held online. On top of that general efficiency, meetings also tend to start on time when they are online. Even with some technical set-up problems, they are just super-efficient. It can be slightly stressful dealing with technical difficulties, but in reality they take up much less time than small-talk and coffee trips in the office. So - cut your online meetings in half, you don't need all of that time!

Although, when forming new partnership connections, other laws apply. Personally, I am fine with the first meeting being online, but when forming long-term connections and trust, the second meeting should preferably be held offline. This may sound overly specific, but the first meeting can be used well online to determine if you have a common space, whereas the second is more about forming that relationship. There's also something about certain atmospheres and cultures in spaces that really benefit from being experienced in-person. Saying that, many of our partnerships have been formed online-only - it's not impossible!

For therapy and counselling, this blended scenario is not going anywhere. The clients' situation and the clinician's needs will mix into a therapeutic trajectory that clinics will design for the best possible outcomes. I also predict that session structures will change as a result of different access points: instead of an hour a week, online meetings could allow for more frequent but brief check-ins throughout the week, which could be really beneficial for certain interventions. Universities will hopefully research these changes for results, but for now it is up to strong professionals to think outside of the box.

People's attitudes are changing, and we need to seize that opportunity.

I held a talk in Ireland recently, and while not one of the people I spoke to had tried seeing a doctor or therapist online, they were all open to it and fine with it. I find that it is much more the professionals themselves who are afraid, worrying that they will not feel the same connection and build therapeutic relationship. I absolutely relate to that; this is a different approach that professional educational units have not introduced until now during studies. However, our experience is that once they've given it a try they are very positive about it. They get positive feedback from their clients and can see the added benefits for their practices. But, no one wants to go 100% online.

This change will move clinics and practices swiftly to other digital opportunities - secure vaults for notes, online questionnaires, digital client case files, and business data overviews. Moving into digital workflows is now much easier, and will increase time available to read up on books, articles - or just to go for a much needed walk around the park. We've seen the use of our different service options grow concurrently with this digital change brought to us by COVID-19. At first, we all thought this would be over quickly, but with further waves of the pandemic we have seen professionals taking bigger, more consistent steps, as people's attitudes and self-esteem regarding technology shifts in general. They are embracing technology consistently and not stopping.

Our mission is to bring professionals support to achieve a balance between offering online and offline sessions. It doesn't have to be a pandemic that stops people going to their sessions - it could be a volcano (ongoing in Iceland!), a snow storm, stigma of showing up at the clinic, or something as simple as a traffic jam. We also all know of the silent problem of isolation - our dream is to help professionals reach those suffering, build trust, and then be able to get them help.

A few items to evaluate for a blended approach in therapy and counselling:

1. Take a couple of hours to look at your security issues. They can be complicated for individual therapists to consider, but they're so important and clients need to be informed about them as well. GDPR is very tricky - we can help.
2. Don't be afraid of technology! Click all the buttons, try it out, the undo button is there for a reason. Ask yourself what changes if you implement an online platform: what changes in terms of booking a session, inviting a patient to a session, etc.
3. When you run into complications with your tech or when something isn't working, try to put it into some perspective. Maybe a minute or two goes into fixing things - which, in an in-person session is equivalent to taking off your coat, nipping to the bathroom, or being delayed by traffic. It can be stressful when you're not sure what's happening, but it's really important to take a deep breath, enjoy a sip of your coffee, and trust that it will be fine. Very soon we will all be used to it and able to help each other out!
4. Remember that blended approaches should be giving you more balance. You shouldn't be cramming sessions up next to each other just because you've saved time on a commute - you now have time to go to the bathroom and breathe a little, so use it. Digitalisation should be providing you with relief and more balance, not time to cram in more work and burn out faster. Put your breaks into your calendar to make sure you stick to this.
5. Digital tools give you data by default. What data points would you like to see about your practice? Want to get help with marketing in slower months? Need to know about cancellation rates? How is the client is feeling? All these data points can help you grow your clinic or change your flow of work.

If you want to read more content like this, follow the link below to Kara Connect's Medium publication:

https://karaconnect.medium.com/