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Setting up for Brainspotting via Telehealth

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As we are all preparing to do things differently for a while, I have been fielding many questions regarding just how to get things working well – for us and for our clients. Here is a summary of what I feel is good to know.

Working from Home
When we are in our homes, so many things are so different. The space, our muscle memory for where things are, maybe even how we feel about ourselves and our practice. I know that I feel much more “on the job” when I am in my office than at home, that’s why I have an office. I like the separation of work/life and I like the guaranteed privacy.

At home I am needing to create a space that achieves as much of my professional comfort as possible. I have a room where I can close the door. I purchased a second sound machine so I have the same familiar ocean wave noise as I am accustomed in my office. I have a desk where my computer can be stable and at eye-level. I have a rolling desk chair so I can move about a bit. I have a jar with pens, pointers, finger puppets to use in the session. I have my files and my phone. I have a clock at eye-level so I can track the timing of the session.

I also have 2 things that I don’t typically use in my office. I have a set of wireless headphones with a built-in microphone and I have a conferencing microphone.

The headset is so I am confident that my clients are being as protected as possible, nobody in the house could hear the client’s voice or what they are expressing. In working for just a short while with earbuds that have a mic, I found them to be very uncomfortable, and the mic gets brushed and muffled often which becomes very irritating on the receiving end when you are doing work this way all day.

The conferencing microphone is a great option for groups, and that is how I have been using it so far. It drowns out background noise and amplifies my voice and it has a great range so if I move around, the client or group can still hear me clearly.

TIP: make sure the audio on your system is selecting the remote speaker/headset, not the built-in one. You can check that on the top bar of your screen, and then again make sure to select it within the preferences of the video conferencing platform that you use. 

The Client’s Home
My colleague here, Nick Doolittle, created a lovely “get started” how-to page for clients on his website and offered to share it with everyone. I put it on my letterhead and have it available for clients, I can e-mail it prior to the session and they can get as ready as possible beforehand.

One thing to really stress with clients, trainees, colleagues is that their video source (laptop / desktop / iPad / tablet / phone) be STABLE, i.e: stationary. Working with screen sessions for extended periods I find myself somewhat seasick by the end of the day sometimes.

The Business Part
I have a new link on my site to accept PayPal or credit card payment for sessions. I also have a fill-in-able pdf of the Intake Paperwork that clients can send to me via e-mail, or if need be through a Dropbox exchange.

We are all doing the best we can, learning from each other and from each session. Be kind and gentle with yourself and remember that your clients will give you far more credit than you think.

 

Brainspotting Trainings Update: 3/17/2020

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I have been informed by Monadnock Family Services that we are unable to hold the in-person Phase 2 in April, they are suspending all in-person activity until May 1, 2020. And because we still do not know how COVID-19 will play out, they are more comfortable with postponing to October 16-18, 2020.

BUT: last evening David announced plans to hold our scheduled trainings – BOTH online and in-person. Yes, your registration will get you access to an online training, plus lots of supervision by your Trainer, AS WELL AS an in-person training after the pandemic has lifted. The Keene pair of events are currently scheduled for April 24-26 and October 16-18, 2020.

The overall desire it to get as many practitioners trained to support clients – and each other – through this pandemic, and then these trained practitioners can support the impact of COVID-19 aftermath, being as the longer it lasts, the more support the population will need.

I am still crossing my fingers that the June Phases 1 and 2 will be allowed to be held in-person, but we will cross that bridge as we get closer. Regardless, we will learn through these early online/in-person events and be ready for either approach by then.

So now: for those of you who have registered for April, you can choose to go forward with this dual-approach model, or have your fee reimbursed to you with no penalty, or you can choose to use that registration fee for a future training with me. Each of us must make our own decisions around this and I fully respect whatever you choose.

Please keep calling and sending me your e-mails and let’s keep in touch through this historically unusual time.

We are doing our best, this is new for all of us.

We are all in this together.

Brainspotting Trainings Update

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As a Brainspotting Trainer it is my responsibility to provide the best training experience for you, therefore please read the following carefully.

The recent global response to the COVID-19 pandemic may seem severe in one light, but smart and careful in another.

By cancelling or postponing social gatherings or limiting attendance to 50 or 25, yes there is a business hit, but the health benefit may prove to outweigh that hit over time. By containing and preventing the spread of the virus in a seemingly severe way now, we will hopefully be back up and running sooner than if we don’t. 3 weeks of suspension sure beats 3 months in my book.

The trainings I have scheduled in Northern New England are still a ways out. The April Phase 2 in Keene is still scheduled to run at this date. Maybe the small size of our Northern New England gatherings will work in our favor as we typically have under 15 attendees. I will keep in close contact with the venues to assess their comfort and risk and we will publish announcements of postponement or cancellation when necessary.

If we do need to postpone, or if you choose to not attend a gathering right now, your registration fee can either be completely refunded, all service charges will be waived, or you can choose to use your registration fee for a future training with me. If you choose to attend a different training with a different trainer, I will refund your registration fee to you.

As we near the training dates, I ask each attendee to seriously assess your health and/or exposure status before coming together in a group setting. I ask that you not attend should you have even slight symptoms.

If we are in a training and find that an attendee is sick or becoming symptomatic, that attendee will be asked to immediately quarantine. Luckily again, since all attendees to my trainings are within reasonable driving distance, the complications with airline flights is not an issue.

We are being reassured by all major hotel chains that increased sanitizing measures, in accordance with the CDC and WHO, are being implemented. Some are reporting sanitizing all public surfaces, elevators, handrails, light switches and doorknobs on an hourly basis.

I sincerely hope that we are able to hold our trainings because in light of this pandemic, even more of our population will need support in healing. I believe that Brainspotting is a remarkably effective and creative tool to give clients the speediest route to recovery and balance that I know.

COVID-19 Business Update

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Sessions are happily continuing here at kTherapy and Brainspotting with Katherine.

I would like to assure all current and potential clients of the measures that I am personally taking, as well as the measures that the building management is taking in preventing the spread of any germs.

I have Clorox wipes that I use on door handles, chair arms, my phone, pens, headphones, pointers and anything else that a client or I may touch after each and every session. I have alcohol-based spray hand sanitizer as well as organic/natural hand sanitizer available for everyone. I will also wipe down anything that a client asks me to, in front of them, to further assure you that the space is clean and disinfected.

I wash my hands 10+ times daily for a minimum of 40-seconds with soap, water, and then dry them thoroughly. I follow up with hand sanitizer as well, as needed.

I insist that you do not come to the physical office space if you have any symptoms that could be interpreted as a cold.

We can set up video sessions, as I have with several clients already, to bridge the gap during the COVID-19 situation. I use the HIPAA-compliant version of Zoom (the popular video conferencing software) for these sessions. Zoom is free for all clients.

The building management has informed me that they have 2 rounds of sanitation daily. They are using Lysol spray and bleach (separately) to address all interior and exterior door handles as well as elevator buttons, restroom handles and fixtures, and handrails in all stairwells. This occurs around 5:30-6:00am as well as around 8:00pm daily.

My office is arranged so that when we are in a session, we are practicing the recommended 6-foot social distancing separation. I will also open and close all doors for clients who don’t want to do so themselves. And we have sadly temporarily suspended all therapeutic handshakes and hugs. Rest assured, they will reinstate as soon as we are able.

I am including the following video from DHMS as I feel it has great information and education. It is dated March 9 so the statistics are outdated, but the information is not.

This COVID-19 event will end, as all viral infection cycles do. I hope that we can all remain safe and measured in our response to this time and learn new methods of looking after one another that carry on long after it ends.

Sane Information regarding COVID-19 and the Upper Valley

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There has been some fear reaction locally regarding COVID-19 and the one DHMC employee, who travelled from Italy recently, testing positive for the virus. There is one “presumptive” case that had close personal contact with the first person.

Clients are cancelling sessions fearful of “things happening around there” which is exactly what the CDC and medical professionals do NOT want to happen. Baseless fear is more toxic, causing paranoia of germs and other people, than a virus, especially to a healthy human.

The below video is a smart, fact-based discussion of the virus and how to keep yourself from contracting or spreading it. Note: masks don’t work.

Also, if by any chance I am contacted by DHMC that I am named as a person that someone with the virus has come into contact with, I will be the first one to immediately self-quarantine and inform every one of my clients personally.

Please don’t let fear and paranoia rule your lives.

Announcing Spring 2020 Trainings in New Hampshire

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I am pleased to announce three upcoming trainings that I will be holding this Spring, 2020. I am grateful to the generous and enthusiastic hosting we are privileged to!

Phase 2 (pdf flier) is again being hosted by Monadnock Family Services on April 24-26, 2020.

Kimball Union Academy is also generously hosting us again on back-to-back weekends featuring Phase 1 (pdf flier) on June 5-7, 2020, and the following weekend Phase 2 (pdf flier) on June 12-14, 2020.

There are 21 CEs available for a separate $30 fee through R. Cassidy, link below:

 

Registration is open! Click on the dates above to get to the registration pages.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or for more details.

I look forward to seeing you then!

3-day Phase 1 Training November 2019 in Keene, NH!

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This event is complete; registration is closed.

Flier for November 2019 BSP Phase 1 training in Keene, NH

Flier for November 2019 BSP Phase 1 training in Keene, NH (click for PDF)

If you attended this training and want to purchase the 21 CEs available from R. Cassidy for $30, click here.

—–

I am officially announcing the next Northern New England Phase 1 Brainspotting training. We are very gratefully being hosted by Monadnock Family Services in Keene, NH. Dates are November 8-10, 2019.

Early bird registration is available through October 6, 2019. And for VT attendees, I have registered Phase 1 through VSAC Grants program (www.vsac.org) if you would like to see if some or all of your tuition can be covered.

Lodging options:
Courtyard by Marriott
Fairfield Inn and Suites
AirBnB options
More hotels and Inns

There are 21 CEs available from R Cassidy for a nominal $30 fee. To purchase CEs, click here.

I can’t wait to see you there!

 

We Keep Growing!

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I am so pleased and proud to introduce another 10 trained Brainspotting practitioners to Northern New England.

We truly enjoyed our 3-day Phase 1 training in KUA’s spectacular setting. Our newest Brainspotters represent 4 states (ME, NH, VT, MA) and 2 schools are now officially Brainspotting-trained.

Castleton University in western central Vermont now has 3 Brainspotting practitioners and our gracious host Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH now has 4 Brainspotting practitioners.

We are making inroads in Maine, now with Kimberly Austin bringing Brainspotting to Portland. And the greater Boston area now boasts Hema Naraharisetty in Peabody and Emily Uppal in Boston proper.

If you would like to arrange or host a training in Northern New England, please contact me and we can get one started!

A Special Phase 1 Hosted by KUA is this June 21-23!

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This event is complete; you can no longer register for it.

I am very excited to announce the dates are set for the next Northern New England Phase 1 Training. And we are being hosted by the elite Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH! What a wonderful location, a spectacularly beautiful time of year to be in New England, and the amazing generosity of KUA offering extremely discounted lodging and meals as an option!

We will also be addressing the particular challenges that both adolescents and young adults face when away from home for what may be the first time, as well as the particular challenges that the front-liners face in being immersed in these emotional rollercoaster settings. Limbic countertransference will be addressed.

If you encounter adolescents or young adults in a school or college/university setting, this is one you don’t want to miss!

21 CEs available from R. Cassidy Seminars for $30, payable directly to them: https://www.academeca.com/CEUReg/SeminarInfo.aspx?seminarId=2385

For more information or to register, please don’t hesitate to contact me.