JANUARY 2021 E-NEWSLETTER

Dear Members,

What a beginning to 2021! 2020 was quite a challenging year for all of us, and 2021 has already brought more unrest. Still, as we gingerly move forward into this new year, we hold hope that social justice issues and pandemic difficulties will begin to improve.

Although we know that COVID-19 has changed the landscape of psychotherapy for some time to come, we also hold hope that our work lives can find some stability this year. At the close of 2020, two vaccines were granted emergency use authorization by the FDA. Vaccinations continue to be administered to front-line health workers and first responders, and at the end of last week, California gave county health departments some leeway to begin administering vaccinations to agency and private practice MFTs who work with high-risk clients. For information about when and how you can receive a vaccine, visit the COVID-19 Vaccines section of CAMFT’s COVID FAQ page.

With the availability of vaccines, a reasonable question arises. When can MFTs resume in-person therapy sessions?

There are several factors to consider when answering this question:

• It will take a substantial amount of time to vaccinate enough people to achieve herd immunity.
• The vaccines are quite effective at preventing serious COVID illness, but vaccinated people might become mildly sick and still spread the virus to those who have not yet been vaccinated.
• Behavioral health is the health care specialty that has been most effective in telehealth.

Therefore, the simple answer to the question of resuming in-person therapy sessions is, not quite yet.

For most MFTs, particularly those in private practice settings, it is advisable to continue with remote/telehealth sessions for the time being. This protects both you and your clients during the vaccine rollout.

MFTs are considered essential workers and therefore do have the option to provide in-person sessions. However, with nearly the entire state in the purple tier or higher, and COVID positive test rates increasing substantially, it would be wise to continue to hold off on in-person sessions when possible. Of course, individual clients may have clinical issues that warrant in-person services. Therapists should be mindful and consider how to deliver services in the most appropriate way for each client. 

If you work for an organization that is requiring you to see clients in person, you should be advocating with your supervisors/administrators about ensuring safety protocols for both you and your clients. CAMFT will continue to provide updates and resources as we learn more; bookmark our COVID-19 Resources page in your browser and come back to it regularly to check the updates.

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021!
 

Regards,

Nabil El-Ghoroury, Ph.D., CAE
Executive Director
nel-ghoroury@camft.org | Twitter: @drnabil