I have been writing this blog in my head for over three weeks. So here it goes. Returning to my office post COVID, I had this "brilliant" idea of rearranging my office to expose the radiator. If you have been in my office, you are well aware of the limitations of moving furniture around. But I did it. I had three phone sessions, so I knew I had the time. Two of my post covid symptoms I am still struggling with are difficulty breathing and exhaustion?. So I was undertaking a significant feat here. After moving everything (three hours later), I needed one last thing ( the plastic to go under my desk for my office chair). Unfortunately, I did not have it in me. So I sent an SOS text to my favorite Cranford police officer who was in my office 3 minutes later and took him 2 seconds to do what I needed to be done - as I lay on the floor in complete exhaustion. I even asked him for oxygen, which I was half-serious when I asked. Some clients were even lucky enough to get a full reenactment of this entire situation.
I love my office. It is my space. As a mother, it is probably one of the only things in this world that is entirely mine. There are little things around the office that I have collected through the years to make my office mine and bring out my personality: some books, some cats doing yoga, little buddhas, shells, etc. But my office is also my client's office. It is a place they come week in and week out to process some of the most intimate and challenging issues in their lives. So I want my office to be comfortable and welcoming for my clients and me.
So.....that being said. The change did not go over as well as I had expected. Well, maybe I kind of knew what to expect...
HIPAA does not allow me to give any potentially identifying information out....but you know who you are. I even had one client who asked how many times I had to process the redesign.
After a few sessions of processing the rearrangement of my office, I decided to take another approach—a psychological one ( if you will). Change. How do we as human beings adapt to change? And are some changes easier than others? Over the last three weeks, I heard that I should have informed them of the change. Instead, I typically just smirked at them. I tell them about that radiator issue, and as most of my clients can attest, I have worn my Comfy or even a blanket during sessions because I am always cold. But this issue of change still lingered.
Life is about evolving, changing, seeing the error in our ways, and making adjustments to be better humans. And yes, as much as my office is my space, it is also my client's space. So if they are not expecting a change in their space, it can throw off their process - seriously, it can throw off the process.
My main goal as a therapist is to help you evolve. Help you move forward in life, help you accept unpredictable change - even in places in which you least expect it.