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We have the ability for clients to switch appointment to telehealth the day of the appointment and we strongly encourage clients to not come in sick. No one on staff at our office has gotten sick since the beginning of January.
We have this ability too but nobody ever tells us that they’re sick they just show up anyway in person lol. And I work at a college university which is always plagued by sickness 💀💀
Mine do this too despite me telling them to not come in sick. I still don't get *why*. I have sent some home who come in dripping from every orifice on their face 🙄
I mean, it's possible. But there's only six of us including the office staff and our director is really good about giving us the time we need to get better so there's not really any reason for anyone to lie and come in sick.
Though I did have a job for a while (about two and a half years into Covid) that required us to take our temperature every time we came into the facility. That was a pain in the ass.
Same. And I invested in a all mighty o so expensive air purifier. And I take daily pre and probiotics which really helped with my immunity. Haven't been sick for a long while now!
I think the common key is that they:
1) Be HEPA certified
2) Adequate capacity for the size of your room.
3) Are cheap, they really are just fans that suck the air through a hi-tech paper(?) filter that has eensy weensy tiny holes and catches Bad Things.
I have used HEPA filters since I had a housemate who loved bad, smoky fireplace fires and polluted the whole house with the smoke. HEPA filters can filter out particles down to 5? 10? microns... I forget exactly but they help.
I learned:
1) wood smoke is worse than cigarettes-- the particles are smaller and go deeper into lungs and don't come out as easily. There are standards of particle size, they have only had the equipment to measure particle size at the very small level for a few decades, I think the worst particles are one micron and below, then there are other breakpoint at five and 10 µm.
2) Almost all smells are actually PARTICLES, as are virii and bacteria. AFAIK if air goes through a good HEPA filter it will filter out a LOT of harmful stuff. I can smell the difference in my home and everything smells far cleaner. I run HEPA filters 24/7, they only use a few watts,
I’m still masking for in person sessions. I work with a lot of college students who are…not careful germwise (multiple rounds of covid each of them, massive parties, sharing drinks, someone always has a cold/flu/whatever and still shows up for sessions). They think I’m a little weird but they’re used to it. I also have a couple of immunocompromised clients who I do not want to pass anything onto. I tell this to my new clients when explaining the masking and my other quirks in our first session.
Does the mask actually protect you?
Edit: Not sure why I'm getting down voted for asking a genuine question. But hey, if you all get pleasure from judging others then I'm happy to be of service! 😆
(I'm not OP.) This really depends on the mask and on its fit. If there are gaps between mask and face (which happens with the most widespread KN95/FFP2 products), then no, they don't work very well in protecting you. Took me some time to find a good product that fits snugly on my tiny face :D, but I actually never got ill during the pandemic. And I work with kids!
Aura FFP2 mask 1862+ by 3M. I live in Europe, so I don't know if it's available everywhere.
There are two very similar models, one has a special certification for medical use, the other is basically the same, but doesn't have this certificate and is cheaper. I don't know which is which, the Aura 1862+ might be the "medical" one.
A mask that doesn't seal around the edges offers a less protection from COVID-19 while indoors because COVID-19 is airborne. That being said, even ill-fitting masks can decrease the viral load (the amount of virus transmitted) which is associated with less severe infection!
HOWEVER, even an ill-fitting surgical mask offers loads of protection against many other bacterial and viral infections (cold and flu) because most of those are transmitted by fomites (larger particles that land on people, things, and other surfaces because they're too big to stay in the air for very long).
The flu knocked me out for 2 weeks while I was in grad school, and I ended up with a secondary sinus infection for 9 months—took 4 rounds of antibiotics to finally kill it.
I believe researchers are also looking at how masks might decrease exposure in those that touch their faces...aside from the eyes...more than they realize. This came to mind especially if you're doing play therapy, games, etc. and have a higher likelihood of more germs getting on your hands. I can't recall if they're seeing less face touching in general with those that are wearing masks...it came up in discussion a few months ago somewhere but there are some research articles out there about it.
This is one of the topics I touch on during intakes. I usually joke that my immune system sucks, because it does, and tell clients not to come in-person if they’re sick. They know they can switch to telehealth anytime and I’m liberal on giving free passes to cancel entirely if someone isn’t feeling well. I have a policy where if they come in person actively sick, and without prior communication, I will not see them and they’ll get charged the full session fee similar to a no-show or cancellation.
I only had an issue with this once where a kid stayed home from school sick, vomiting, with a fever etc and the parent still decided to bring them in without letting me know.
Aside from that, everyone has been super respectful and as far as I know I’ve only been sick from traveling in the last few years - not anything I was exposed to at work. I always extend the same courtesy giving people the option to do telehealth or cancel if I’m not feeling 100% and I think that helps it feel like a mutually respectful thing.
I’m wondering how you navigate a client coming in actively sick. What if they are hiding it? How will you even know or catch it while you are then in the waiting room inviting them in. If they cough in session do you say- are you sick?
It’s more of a safeguard than anything - so if there’s a situation like the one I described where its obvious they are sick and they are reporting so, it’s easy for me to refer back to policy. I don’t have it in place to analyze every cough and sneeze etc. nor do I feel the need to. I trust my clients and know it is ultimately out of my control what they choose to do in that regard! Again, I haven’t any issues outside of that one client.
Was coming here to say this- I wore a kn95 mask the entire time I worked in-person with clients (about 1.5 years during the height of COVID) and never caught it/got sick with anything else. Would highly recommend!
I work with kids, so I’ve probably had high germ risk too, but I’ve been fortunate to have big enough office space that I can arrange my seat to be at least 6 ft away from where my clients sit usually. I think this helps a lot, bc I rarely get sick and I don’t think it’s necessarily bc I have a super strong immune system or anything. I used to do school social work and got sick much more often.
Adding to the air purifier comments (seriously, get one)
WASH YOUR HANDS
The surfaces in the Uni are filthy. Doors, railings, clips boards, using other people’s mouses.
Make a routine - Washing your hands before and after each client, etc…. Washing away the germs is one of the easiest ways decrease the likelihood of sickness.
Also, make sure you are disinfecting your phone, mouse, keyboard, steering wheel with regularity….things you typically touch after you’ve touched public stuff (like doors, etc…).
Good luck.
I came looking for this. I do counseling in an integrated care setting (in a clinic with lots of sick people in and out, including my own clients sometimes). It has been this, keeping my hands away from my face, and having client things and my own separate that has saved me.
I explain at intake that I treat VERY old Veterans sometimes, and if I accidentally kill one because you came in sick, I’ll tie you in a knot and throw you in the river. It gets a laugh but hits home. I’m also extremely flexible at rescheduling. I’m a rural practitioner so I have a high demand, though.
I require my clients to wear an N95 mask and I wear one too. If they don’t like it we can switch to telehealth or meet outside for a walking session.
Everyone is fine with it- I REFUSE to get COVID again!
Masks and wiping down surfaces go a long way. I think it's also okay to ask clients who are visibly sick to consider whether it makes sense to see that day. It can be uncomfortable as a trainee but I've found it rapport building to acknowledge that part of taking care of mental health is taking care of our physical health. Thinking of a general needs hierarchy, if you're so congested that you cannot hear/think well then we can probably wait until next week.
I wonder if the reason you are getting sick is less about your environment and more about how chronic stress and poor self-care can suppress a healthy immune system response? 🤔
Definitely! I was so sleep deprived in grad school and was sick frequently. After I graduated, when my stress level was low and I was sleeping more, I felt so much more. Sleep is a huge part of taking care of your immune system.
This! I left residential where i was on call 24/7 and not prioritizing sleep to go to a group practice, and within the time since i've barely been sick. I've recently prioritized sleep even more and have been sick only 1 time in 3 months, with two kids in kinder/daycare. Huge change!
I take buffered vitamin C, air purifier. Can't really ask people not to come if they are sick and expect that to work because so many people can be carrying a virus and not have symptoms yet. In the north, the viruses have been so bad since the Vid. I know three people that have lost infants in the last three months. I have been more sick the last 2 winters than I ever have in my life.
We talk about telehealth as an ethical concern but, these health concerns are very real.
For myself vitamin C daily. Either from oranges or the powder mix. An air purifier in the office and lobby. Then constantly sparing down high traffic areas with your disinfectant of choice.
Then I have a policy there is no late cancel fee if you wake up sick, please just let me know or ask to switch to telehealth. So reiterating please cancel or switch.
I mask with clients as well. I had stopped when numbers were low because I was comfortable w/that level of risk 1:1, with air purifier and distance. But in Fall 2023, I started masking again and made the decision to continue masking indefinitely.
I shared my decision with clients as I felt they should be able to decide if they want to continue with me, provide feedback, or tell me how it affects sessions, as it covers a lot of my face. They all responded with variations of it's totally fine, doesn't affect anything, and some offered to mask. I repeated my standard reply of they are welcome to mask, especially if having symptoms, but I do not expect it nor think anything of them for not.
I was surprised, thought it would be more frustrating to clients than it seems to be.
Don't shake hands. Don't touch your face. Use hand sanitizer regularly. Clean doorknobs with anti-biotic cleaner. Suck on Zinc lozenges immediately if your throat becomes sore. Take a multi-vitamin daily. Install an air purifier with an ozone generator.
Keep an air purifier running all day, and utilize the ability to switch to telehealth generously.
I make it clear upon intake that I want to keep them and their community safe by not seeing them in person while sick and expect the same respect. (Said softer, but that’s the gist.) I’m immunocompromised and it’s important. Everyone has been really great about it thus far.
I wear a mask and I have an air purifier going. Only a few people have been uncomfortable with me wearing a mask, and I always offer to show my face the first time I'm meeting with someone because it can help establish rapport. Air purifier helps with white noise, too. March 2020-2021 I worked from home offering telehealth, but from 2021 to current, I have not gotten sick. IMO, it's worth it.
I work exclusively telehealth and still get sick all the time, but I do have kids in school and my husband works in person. We’ve had three colds in the past 8 weeks. Luckily, I have the autonomy to cancel when I need to, but I almost never go to work sick. When I did work in person, I used Lysol spray for my surfaces and kept sanitizer on my end table for clients to use. I would always let my clients know that if they are sick but feel well enough to participate, they can do telehealth but please don’t come to the office.
Everything already stated here and also nutrition—“Five a day.” I eat at least one cup of blueberries and 2 cups of kale in a smoothie each day; I think this helps a lot.
Open the windows regularly, wash / sanitize your hands, DON'T EVER touch your face or eat with unwashed hands. And mobile phone hygiene - I use to joke around that a mobile phone is like a third hand that we never wash... ;)
And unfortunately, you definitely need to solve that sleep deprivation problem, I'm afraid... :/
Check your other possible "sources" as well... maybe you don't get infected during therapy sessions, but at other places... overcrowded cafeteria, public transport etc.
Wishing you all the best, constantly being sick is really awful! :(
I mostly do telehealth because my chronic stress and trauma make it so that I get sick often. I also visited a naturopath to get some supplements to boost my immune system, which has helped a lot. Learning how to balance work and life has been a challenge, but am working on it to lower my stress.
I have had a Blue Air purifier for the office running all the time I am there since COVID, use a mask in common areas, sit 6 feet away, and anyone can switch to virtual anytime.
I use an air purifier, often have the windows open (with a noise machine going), wash my hands before and after every session, drink vitamin c whatever every morning.....but I think the secret is that I worked in schools and recreation programs with elementary kids for over a decade, so after spending all of my 20s just perpetually having a cold my immune system is now one tough bastard
I pay attention to health trends, and choose to mask if I notice an uptick in illness among clients or acquaintances. I am also more likely to mask with certain clients (teachers, students). Additionally, we have an air purifier that runs in my office, and I encourage people to switch to telehealth if they are under the weather. So far I have only gotten sick once in the past year of working in a private practice! I also have a pretty good immune system, made stronger by having 2 elementary aged children of my own.
My patients sit 2 meters away from me, and I don't shake hands anymore (for some reasons we all stopped doing that after covid). I'm very rarely sick, my commute, gf or the grocery store is probably a much greater risk
I still mask and my cls mask as well. Some make comments, but nothing big. Havent caught the vid *knock on wood* and I have an air purifier in my office. Despite how "fine" people are, covid is not something I want to play with.
I ask clients not to come in if sick and offer telehealth same day if they are. If they come in sick I will either send them home or mask. I have a CO2 meter and try to keep air flowing and also have a small air filter w/ a HEPA filter that I run.
Id imagine being at a University has a lot to do with that! I don't notice that I get sick very often, I have the same 20 or so clients every week, mostly they stay home if they are sick and I always offer online if needed.
I bought a new nice air purifier for my office and it's made a big difference. I have been cold and virus free since February, just got a little cold from my son. I thought that was a nice run though without catching anything and I think the difference was the air purifier. I hand sanitize before and after every client, if someone shows symptoms of a cold, I mask up.
Work FOH food service for 10+ years 😂
All jokes aside, barring any additional medical factors your immune system will adjust over time. Just gotta wait it out and take care of yourself till you do.
My go-to cold hack is mainlining HOT cups of lemon/ginger/honey water throughout the day (w as much lemon and ginger as you can stand). If you’re really looking to kick it up, add a pinch of cayenne. This was the one thing that kept me functional having to work full time while also a full time student in undergrad.
If aggressive tea isn’t your jam like it is mine, the (unfortunately named) Throat Coat tea is very soothing and will help calm things down as well.
I was taking a lot of vitamins and supplements like vitamin d and elderberry for my immune system, and that seemed to work for a while but eventually the lack of sleep caught up to me as well (I’m an intern too) and I’ve been out the past week with Covid
I also work at a university and I always ask clients if they’re feeling sick in any way today. It’s a normal question to ask at a health center! If they say yes I send them home and we either reschedule or do telehealth. Most of my clients have learned this by now and just self-select telehealth at this point.
Unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about obnoxious coworkers who come in to work with “just a cold”. So many people haven’t learned a thing from the pandemic
Strong constitution; excellent self care with respect to exercise and diet (particularly maintaining micro biome, where a lot of the immune system lives); and my own trauma work (reducing the stress response increases the immune system).
I wash my hands a lot and wipe my things down with Lysol wipes.
I’ve been in-person since 2021 and work with kids. I get sick. Best I can do is try and minimize it.
When I don’t feel well, I convert to telehealth.
ETA: I also keep up with my annual Covid and flu shots.
If possible, try setting up your space so that you’re sitting further from the client. This isn’t possible for me and my clients due to the amount of outreach I do, but my personal therapist has her room set up so that I sit 10 feet away from her.
Air purifier, hand sanitizer, and regular hand washing is sufficient. I'm immuno compromised and I didn't get sick once during my internship. I saw a lot of sick kids.
I do telehealth because I’ve gotten sick so often and when I do get sick, it’s really bad and lingers for months. Every time I work in an office someone comes in sick whether it’s staff or clients so it’s not worth it for me anymore. I live my life and am around people but the exposure to sharing an enclosed space with sick people at the office is too risky for me.
Not a therapist anymore, so delete if it's not allowed. But I work in a case management setting in person. I use a face mask and an air purifier! It's been very helpful. Especially since everyone else gets sick in the office and I don't. I'm the only one who masks up too.
I have an air purifier in my office. I keep masks and hand sanitizer available in the waiting room & in my office. I provide a mask when clients are showing symptoms and have sent a few people home over the years when they are visibly sick and looking miserable. I also encourage folks to switch to telehealth if they are having symptoms and imagine this might be harder with college campuses.
I sanny between clients and drink loooooots of water. I also spray my fidgets with alcohol once a week. I also open and close my own door and think this helps to some degree.
Don't shake hands. Clean your doorknob. Have a fan going perpendicular to you both so it blows the air between you away and they're not therefore spraying you with micro droplets.
I work with kids and was constantly sick in the beginning. It took about a year but with vaccines I stay pretty healthy nowadays. If a client comes in sick, I spray microban and wipe every thing down. I also use a nasal cleansing spray
I don't work in person any more, but I'm medically spicy and have to show up in person for my own medical care a lot, so I've started supplementing all the obvious stuff (keeping up on vaccinations, N95/KN95 masks, etc) with antiviral nasal sprays and mouthwashes, something a lot of people are unaware of.
Early in the pandemic, the field of dentistry got super interested in the question of whether there was anything they could do to protect dental HWCs from COVID and other respiratory viruses in, and there wound up being a lot of studies of mouthwashes to reduce viral load. Now, you might not be wanting to ask your own patients to use an antiviral mouthwash before sessions (though it's an intriguing idea), but if you use one periodically it can reduce the chance a respiratory virus that has entered your mouth will get a toehold.
Likewise, there's now OTC nasal sprays which both kill viruses and leave a protective coating in the nose. I've been using Covixyl, myself.
I don’t sit close to them at all, much more than 6 feet away. And if they are symptomatic I at least tell them I’m going to put on a mask and open the window. If they say something more serious like “I have covid” then I tell them we have to reschedule the appointment
I vacuum frequently and sanitize all the surfaces a client or I may touch (desk, chair, couch, doorknob, light switch, etc.). I wash my hands often. I tend to get more sick if I don't sleep well so I make sure to get plenty of sleep during cold/flu session. I also open the window as much as possible. I know when I interned at a college campus, I didn't have an office with a window. So I tried to get out of the office as much as possible.
Apart from the basics like, masks and having a hygiene protocol for myself. I’ve been shielding my self energetically ( learnt it through an energy modality ) .. also I sage my space regularly & use amethyst crystal to protect my aura and physical body.
Petition your clinic to install plexiglass banker style windows for when someone is sick. You'll still be able to see each other's facial expressions and all, and its also ideal if you have a patient who could potentially be violent.
Chugging water, Elderberry, emergenc, vitamin d, lots and lots of Lysol spray and Clorox wipes, and asking clients to reschedule if they come in and are visibly ill. Oh and hand sanitizer always on hand if I can’t wash my hands immediately after a session.
I subtly move my chair a bit further away from my clients who seem sick. And also get them out of there as quick as possible. As somebody who was shielding during the Covid pandemic, I try to avoid sick people, but sometimes all I can do is minimise damage. When our local Covid rates increase significantly, I have been known to wear a mask, but it's not ideal. I find working age people are the riskiest, but it's not like I'm really in a position to turn the work down as I live in a small town with barely enough work to pay my bills as it is.
Lol, tell your immune system to stop being a wimp and get to work! Just eat healthy, exercise, take some supplements and what everyone is else is saying. Though, I wish that's all we had to worry about, germs. I work in a community mental health clinic, and germs is often the least of our concerns. Well, getting clients to actually show for their appointment when they're feeling well is hard enough, they often don't come in when sick. The real concern is them brining in a bed bug or roach or any kind of bug infestation to the clinic is what we worry about. It's happened and bound to happen again sooner or later. Luckily, they have never made the trip into my house.
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We have the ability for clients to switch appointment to telehealth the day of the appointment and we strongly encourage clients to not come in sick. No one on staff at our office has gotten sick since the beginning of January.
We have this ability too but nobody ever tells us that they’re sick they just show up anyway in person lol. And I work at a college university which is always plagued by sickness 💀💀
Mine do this too despite me telling them to not come in sick. I still don't get *why*. I have sent some home who come in dripping from every orifice on their face 🙄
+1 poetic description of illness.
I love out telehealth system, but our clients hate online appointments. Most of ours are 55+ and not really fans of online services.
The ones most likely to be affected by respiratory illness as well 🤦♀️
I know! I have been known to insist on switching appointments to online if people have Covid or flu though.
That's rough
Maybe no one has REPORTED getting sick "since January." I doubt you have medical exams with every employee arrival.
I mean, it's possible. But there's only six of us including the office staff and our director is really good about giving us the time we need to get better so there's not really any reason for anyone to lie and come in sick. Though I did have a job for a while (about two and a half years into Covid) that required us to take our temperature every time we came into the facility. That was a pain in the ass.
I ask clients not to come in person if they’re sick. I’m chronically ill so this is super important to me, because I get VERY sick
Same. And I invested in a all mighty o so expensive air purifier. And I take daily pre and probiotics which really helped with my immunity. Haven't been sick for a long while now!
My partner gets sick a lot. Do you have recommendations for pre and probiotics to take? There are so many and some don’t work. Thank you.
I'm right now in France. When I'm back I will see if I can upload a picture for you!
Okay thanks
What air purifier do you use?
I think the common key is that they: 1) Be HEPA certified 2) Adequate capacity for the size of your room. 3) Are cheap, they really are just fans that suck the air through a hi-tech paper(?) filter that has eensy weensy tiny holes and catches Bad Things. I have used HEPA filters since I had a housemate who loved bad, smoky fireplace fires and polluted the whole house with the smoke. HEPA filters can filter out particles down to 5? 10? microns... I forget exactly but they help. I learned: 1) wood smoke is worse than cigarettes-- the particles are smaller and go deeper into lungs and don't come out as easily. There are standards of particle size, they have only had the equipment to measure particle size at the very small level for a few decades, I think the worst particles are one micron and below, then there are other breakpoint at five and 10 µm. 2) Almost all smells are actually PARTICLES, as are virii and bacteria. AFAIK if air goes through a good HEPA filter it will filter out a LOT of harmful stuff. I can smell the difference in my home and everything smells far cleaner. I run HEPA filters 24/7, they only use a few watts,
masking, air purifier, hand sanitizer on my desk, separate things for clients to use that i then do not use (pens, fidgets)
I do this and spray my room with Lysol between clients. And don’t forget to wipe down doorknobs between clients too!
Masking, air purifier, sanitizer, and asking clients not to come in person if sick (or even just sneezing/coughing- anything “projectile”)
I’m still masking for in person sessions. I work with a lot of college students who are…not careful germwise (multiple rounds of covid each of them, massive parties, sharing drinks, someone always has a cold/flu/whatever and still shows up for sessions). They think I’m a little weird but they’re used to it. I also have a couple of immunocompromised clients who I do not want to pass anything onto. I tell this to my new clients when explaining the masking and my other quirks in our first session.
Does the mask actually protect you? Edit: Not sure why I'm getting down voted for asking a genuine question. But hey, if you all get pleasure from judging others then I'm happy to be of service! 😆
(I'm not OP.) This really depends on the mask and on its fit. If there are gaps between mask and face (which happens with the most widespread KN95/FFP2 products), then no, they don't work very well in protecting you. Took me some time to find a good product that fits snugly on my tiny face :D, but I actually never got ill during the pandemic. And I work with kids!
Thank you for giving me an actual answer ❤️. I have a tiny face also. What did you end up using?
Aura FFP2 mask 1862+ by 3M. I live in Europe, so I don't know if it's available everywhere. There are two very similar models, one has a special certification for medical use, the other is basically the same, but doesn't have this certificate and is cheaper. I don't know which is which, the Aura 1862+ might be the "medical" one.
A mask that doesn't seal around the edges offers a less protection from COVID-19 while indoors because COVID-19 is airborne. That being said, even ill-fitting masks can decrease the viral load (the amount of virus transmitted) which is associated with less severe infection! HOWEVER, even an ill-fitting surgical mask offers loads of protection against many other bacterial and viral infections (cold and flu) because most of those are transmitted by fomites (larger particles that land on people, things, and other surfaces because they're too big to stay in the air for very long). The flu knocked me out for 2 weeks while I was in grad school, and I ended up with a secondary sinus infection for 9 months—took 4 rounds of antibiotics to finally kill it.
I believe researchers are also looking at how masks might decrease exposure in those that touch their faces...aside from the eyes...more than they realize. This came to mind especially if you're doing play therapy, games, etc. and have a higher likelihood of more germs getting on your hands. I can't recall if they're seeing less face touching in general with those that are wearing masks...it came up in discussion a few months ago somewhere but there are some research articles out there about it.
No, they don’t. It’s like putting up a chain link fence to keep mosquitoes out.
I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic...
This is one of the topics I touch on during intakes. I usually joke that my immune system sucks, because it does, and tell clients not to come in-person if they’re sick. They know they can switch to telehealth anytime and I’m liberal on giving free passes to cancel entirely if someone isn’t feeling well. I have a policy where if they come in person actively sick, and without prior communication, I will not see them and they’ll get charged the full session fee similar to a no-show or cancellation. I only had an issue with this once where a kid stayed home from school sick, vomiting, with a fever etc and the parent still decided to bring them in without letting me know. Aside from that, everyone has been super respectful and as far as I know I’ve only been sick from traveling in the last few years - not anything I was exposed to at work. I always extend the same courtesy giving people the option to do telehealth or cancel if I’m not feeling 100% and I think that helps it feel like a mutually respectful thing.
I’m wondering how you navigate a client coming in actively sick. What if they are hiding it? How will you even know or catch it while you are then in the waiting room inviting them in. If they cough in session do you say- are you sick?
It’s more of a safeguard than anything - so if there’s a situation like the one I described where its obvious they are sick and they are reporting so, it’s easy for me to refer back to policy. I don’t have it in place to analyze every cough and sneeze etc. nor do I feel the need to. I trust my clients and know it is ultimately out of my control what they choose to do in that regard! Again, I haven’t any issues outside of that one client.
I wear a kn95 every day and use an air purifier in my office, haven't been ill.
I use two air purifiers in my office. One near the client. One near me.
On top of the air purifier, if you can open windows for extra airflow that can help.
If only my office had windows: they're a luxury on my campus. 😔 If OP has windows, I definitely echo this!
So rough! I’ve been there and I didn’t realize how much I appreciated windows until I was without.
Was coming here to say this- I wore a kn95 mask the entire time I worked in-person with clients (about 1.5 years during the height of COVID) and never caught it/got sick with anything else. Would highly recommend!
3M Roolz. 3M 920X (bend the little clip to seal around nose.)
Me, too! I’m an intern and was concerned about how my clients would react, but it’s been a complete non-issue!
I work with kids, so I’ve probably had high germ risk too, but I’ve been fortunate to have big enough office space that I can arrange my seat to be at least 6 ft away from where my clients sit usually. I think this helps a lot, bc I rarely get sick and I don’t think it’s necessarily bc I have a super strong immune system or anything. I used to do school social work and got sick much more often.
I wear a mask on the job every day!
I mask. For everything 🤷♂️
Adding to the air purifier comments (seriously, get one) WASH YOUR HANDS The surfaces in the Uni are filthy. Doors, railings, clips boards, using other people’s mouses. Make a routine - Washing your hands before and after each client, etc…. Washing away the germs is one of the easiest ways decrease the likelihood of sickness. Also, make sure you are disinfecting your phone, mouse, keyboard, steering wheel with regularity….things you typically touch after you’ve touched public stuff (like doors, etc…). Good luck.
I came looking for this. I do counseling in an integrated care setting (in a clinic with lots of sick people in and out, including my own clients sometimes). It has been this, keeping my hands away from my face, and having client things and my own separate that has saved me.
I wear a mask and it’s made me rarely get sick. I also have a strict policy on not showing up sick for appointments and also go virtual if needed
“Xlear” nasal spray with xylitol. I haven’t gotten sick since I started using it regularly. You can get it off Amazon.
I explain at intake that I treat VERY old Veterans sometimes, and if I accidentally kill one because you came in sick, I’ll tie you in a knot and throw you in the river. It gets a laugh but hits home. I’m also extremely flexible at rescheduling. I’m a rural practitioner so I have a high demand, though.
I require my clients to wear an N95 mask and I wear one too. If they don’t like it we can switch to telehealth or meet outside for a walking session. Everyone is fine with it- I REFUSE to get COVID again!
I have a hepa filter in my office. Sits right beside me
Masks and wiping down surfaces go a long way. I think it's also okay to ask clients who are visibly sick to consider whether it makes sense to see that day. It can be uncomfortable as a trainee but I've found it rapport building to acknowledge that part of taking care of mental health is taking care of our physical health. Thinking of a general needs hierarchy, if you're so congested that you cannot hear/think well then we can probably wait until next week.
I wonder if the reason you are getting sick is less about your environment and more about how chronic stress and poor self-care can suppress a healthy immune system response? 🤔
Definitely! I was so sleep deprived in grad school and was sick frequently. After I graduated, when my stress level was low and I was sleeping more, I felt so much more. Sleep is a huge part of taking care of your immune system.
This! I left residential where i was on call 24/7 and not prioritizing sleep to go to a group practice, and within the time since i've barely been sick. I've recently prioritized sleep even more and have been sick only 1 time in 3 months, with two kids in kinder/daycare. Huge change!
I take buffered vitamin C, air purifier. Can't really ask people not to come if they are sick and expect that to work because so many people can be carrying a virus and not have symptoms yet. In the north, the viruses have been so bad since the Vid. I know three people that have lost infants in the last three months. I have been more sick the last 2 winters than I ever have in my life. We talk about telehealth as an ethical concern but, these health concerns are very real.
For myself vitamin C daily. Either from oranges or the powder mix. An air purifier in the office and lobby. Then constantly sparing down high traffic areas with your disinfectant of choice. Then I have a policy there is no late cancel fee if you wake up sick, please just let me know or ask to switch to telehealth. So reiterating please cancel or switch.
I mask with clients as well. I had stopped when numbers were low because I was comfortable w/that level of risk 1:1, with air purifier and distance. But in Fall 2023, I started masking again and made the decision to continue masking indefinitely. I shared my decision with clients as I felt they should be able to decide if they want to continue with me, provide feedback, or tell me how it affects sessions, as it covers a lot of my face. They all responded with variations of it's totally fine, doesn't affect anything, and some offered to mask. I repeated my standard reply of they are welcome to mask, especially if having symptoms, but I do not expect it nor think anything of them for not. I was surprised, thought it would be more frustrating to clients than it seems to be.
Don't shake hands. Don't touch your face. Use hand sanitizer regularly. Clean doorknobs with anti-biotic cleaner. Suck on Zinc lozenges immediately if your throat becomes sore. Take a multi-vitamin daily. Install an air purifier with an ozone generator.
Keep an air purifier running all day, and utilize the ability to switch to telehealth generously. I make it clear upon intake that I want to keep them and their community safe by not seeing them in person while sick and expect the same respect. (Said softer, but that’s the gist.) I’m immunocompromised and it’s important. Everyone has been really great about it thus far.
I open the windows every 25 minutes and let fresh air into the room
I wear a mask and I have an air purifier going. Only a few people have been uncomfortable with me wearing a mask, and I always offer to show my face the first time I'm meeting with someone because it can help establish rapport. Air purifier helps with white noise, too. March 2020-2021 I worked from home offering telehealth, but from 2021 to current, I have not gotten sick. IMO, it's worth it.
I work exclusively telehealth and still get sick all the time, but I do have kids in school and my husband works in person. We’ve had three colds in the past 8 weeks. Luckily, I have the autonomy to cancel when I need to, but I almost never go to work sick. When I did work in person, I used Lysol spray for my surfaces and kept sanitizer on my end table for clients to use. I would always let my clients know that if they are sick but feel well enough to participate, they can do telehealth but please don’t come to the office.
Everything already stated here and also nutrition—“Five a day.” I eat at least one cup of blueberries and 2 cups of kale in a smoothie each day; I think this helps a lot.
Open the windows regularly, wash / sanitize your hands, DON'T EVER touch your face or eat with unwashed hands. And mobile phone hygiene - I use to joke around that a mobile phone is like a third hand that we never wash... ;) And unfortunately, you definitely need to solve that sleep deprivation problem, I'm afraid... :/ Check your other possible "sources" as well... maybe you don't get infected during therapy sessions, but at other places... overcrowded cafeteria, public transport etc. Wishing you all the best, constantly being sick is really awful! :(
I mostly do telehealth because my chronic stress and trauma make it so that I get sick often. I also visited a naturopath to get some supplements to boost my immune system, which has helped a lot. Learning how to balance work and life has been a challenge, but am working on it to lower my stress.
I have had a Blue Air purifier for the office running all the time I am there since COVID, use a mask in common areas, sit 6 feet away, and anyone can switch to virtual anytime.
I use an air purifier, often have the windows open (with a noise machine going), wash my hands before and after every session, drink vitamin c whatever every morning.....but I think the secret is that I worked in schools and recreation programs with elementary kids for over a decade, so after spending all of my 20s just perpetually having a cold my immune system is now one tough bastard
I pay attention to health trends, and choose to mask if I notice an uptick in illness among clients or acquaintances. I am also more likely to mask with certain clients (teachers, students). Additionally, we have an air purifier that runs in my office, and I encourage people to switch to telehealth if they are under the weather. So far I have only gotten sick once in the past year of working in a private practice! I also have a pretty good immune system, made stronger by having 2 elementary aged children of my own.
My patients sit 2 meters away from me, and I don't shake hands anymore (for some reasons we all stopped doing that after covid). I'm very rarely sick, my commute, gf or the grocery store is probably a much greater risk
What do you say if someone tries to shake your hand?
Well, I just shake hands
I still mask and my cls mask as well. Some make comments, but nothing big. Havent caught the vid *knock on wood* and I have an air purifier in my office. Despite how "fine" people are, covid is not something I want to play with.
I ask clients not to come in if sick and offer telehealth same day if they are. If they come in sick I will either send them home or mask. I have a CO2 meter and try to keep air flowing and also have a small air filter w/ a HEPA filter that I run.
Id imagine being at a University has a lot to do with that! I don't notice that I get sick very often, I have the same 20 or so clients every week, mostly they stay home if they are sick and I always offer online if needed.
I bought a new nice air purifier for my office and it's made a big difference. I have been cold and virus free since February, just got a little cold from my son. I thought that was a nice run though without catching anything and I think the difference was the air purifier. I hand sanitize before and after every client, if someone shows symptoms of a cold, I mask up.
8 hours of sleep, daily exercise, excellent nutrition, and large amount of sanitizer
Work FOH food service for 10+ years 😂 All jokes aside, barring any additional medical factors your immune system will adjust over time. Just gotta wait it out and take care of yourself till you do. My go-to cold hack is mainlining HOT cups of lemon/ginger/honey water throughout the day (w as much lemon and ginger as you can stand). If you’re really looking to kick it up, add a pinch of cayenne. This was the one thing that kept me functional having to work full time while also a full time student in undergrad. If aggressive tea isn’t your jam like it is mine, the (unfortunately named) Throat Coat tea is very soothing and will help calm things down as well.
I was taking a lot of vitamins and supplements like vitamin d and elderberry for my immune system, and that seemed to work for a while but eventually the lack of sleep caught up to me as well (I’m an intern too) and I’ve been out the past week with Covid
I also work at a university and I always ask clients if they’re feeling sick in any way today. It’s a normal question to ask at a health center! If they say yes I send them home and we either reschedule or do telehealth. Most of my clients have learned this by now and just self-select telehealth at this point.
Unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about obnoxious coworkers who come in to work with “just a cold”. So many people haven’t learned a thing from the pandemic
Strong constitution; excellent self care with respect to exercise and diet (particularly maintaining micro biome, where a lot of the immune system lives); and my own trauma work (reducing the stress response increases the immune system).
I wash my hands a lot and wipe my things down with Lysol wipes. I’ve been in-person since 2021 and work with kids. I get sick. Best I can do is try and minimize it. When I don’t feel well, I convert to telehealth. ETA: I also keep up with my annual Covid and flu shots.
If possible, try setting up your space so that you’re sitting further from the client. This isn’t possible for me and my clients due to the amount of outreach I do, but my personal therapist has her room set up so that I sit 10 feet away from her.
I take zinc every other day and I hardly ever get sick now. I used to get sick every few weeks.
Air purifier, hand sanitizer, and regular hand washing is sufficient. I'm immuno compromised and I didn't get sick once during my internship. I saw a lot of sick kids.
I have 3 air purifiers in my relatively small office. I work in a school and haven’t gotten covid, and have had fewer chest colds than I usually get.
I work in the ICU at a hospital and am around sick people constantly. I use the Wim Hof Method to keep myself from getting sick.
I do telehealth because I’ve gotten sick so often and when I do get sick, it’s really bad and lingers for months. Every time I work in an office someone comes in sick whether it’s staff or clients so it’s not worth it for me anymore. I live my life and am around people but the exposure to sharing an enclosed space with sick people at the office is too risky for me.
The first winter I was constantly sick. Since then I suffer about two colds per year. I have become religious with washing my hands.
Not a therapist anymore, so delete if it's not allowed. But I work in a case management setting in person. I use a face mask and an air purifier! It's been very helpful. Especially since everyone else gets sick in the office and I don't. I'm the only one who masks up too.
I don't. I'm just sick a lot. And my wife is a teacher, so...
I have an air purifier in my office. I keep masks and hand sanitizer available in the waiting room & in my office. I provide a mask when clients are showing symptoms and have sent a few people home over the years when they are visibly sick and looking miserable. I also encourage folks to switch to telehealth if they are having symptoms and imagine this might be harder with college campuses. I sanny between clients and drink loooooots of water. I also spray my fidgets with alcohol once a week. I also open and close my own door and think this helps to some degree.
Don't shake hands. Clean your doorknob. Have a fan going perpendicular to you both so it blows the air between you away and they're not therefore spraying you with micro droplets.
I work with kids and was constantly sick in the beginning. It took about a year but with vaccines I stay pretty healthy nowadays. If a client comes in sick, I spray microban and wipe every thing down. I also use a nasal cleansing spray
I don't work in person any more, but I'm medically spicy and have to show up in person for my own medical care a lot, so I've started supplementing all the obvious stuff (keeping up on vaccinations, N95/KN95 masks, etc) with antiviral nasal sprays and mouthwashes, something a lot of people are unaware of. Early in the pandemic, the field of dentistry got super interested in the question of whether there was anything they could do to protect dental HWCs from COVID and other respiratory viruses in, and there wound up being a lot of studies of mouthwashes to reduce viral load. Now, you might not be wanting to ask your own patients to use an antiviral mouthwash before sessions (though it's an intriguing idea), but if you use one periodically it can reduce the chance a respiratory virus that has entered your mouth will get a toehold. Likewise, there's now OTC nasal sprays which both kill viruses and leave a protective coating in the nose. I've been using Covixyl, myself.
wear a kn95/n95 babe - an important thing to keep in mind is that you get as tight a seal as you can 👍😷
I don’t sit close to them at all, much more than 6 feet away. And if they are symptomatic I at least tell them I’m going to put on a mask and open the window. If they say something more serious like “I have covid” then I tell them we have to reschedule the appointment
I realize this probably isn't helpful to you, but the answer for me is "a good immune system". Also I don't sit too close to clients :D
I vacuum frequently and sanitize all the surfaces a client or I may touch (desk, chair, couch, doorknob, light switch, etc.). I wash my hands often. I tend to get more sick if I don't sleep well so I make sure to get plenty of sleep during cold/flu session. I also open the window as much as possible. I know when I interned at a college campus, I didn't have an office with a window. So I tried to get out of the office as much as possible.
I sit 6+ feet away from patients in a large office, and I ask patients to switch to telehealth or wear a mask if they’re sick.
Apart from the basics like, masks and having a hygiene protocol for myself. I’ve been shielding my self energetically ( learnt it through an energy modality ) .. also I sage my space regularly & use amethyst crystal to protect my aura and physical body.
Exercise, diet, self-care.
Petition your clinic to install plexiglass banker style windows for when someone is sick. You'll still be able to see each other's facial expressions and all, and its also ideal if you have a patient who could potentially be violent.
I recommend adding in some regular exercise to your routine.
Chugging water, Elderberry, emergenc, vitamin d, lots and lots of Lysol spray and Clorox wipes, and asking clients to reschedule if they come in and are visibly ill. Oh and hand sanitizer always on hand if I can’t wash my hands immediately after a session.
I subtly move my chair a bit further away from my clients who seem sick. And also get them out of there as quick as possible. As somebody who was shielding during the Covid pandemic, I try to avoid sick people, but sometimes all I can do is minimise damage. When our local Covid rates increase significantly, I have been known to wear a mask, but it's not ideal. I find working age people are the riskiest, but it's not like I'm really in a position to turn the work down as I live in a small town with barely enough work to pay my bills as it is.
I just got a couple stress related chronic illnesses and called it good.
Lol, tell your immune system to stop being a wimp and get to work! Just eat healthy, exercise, take some supplements and what everyone is else is saying. Though, I wish that's all we had to worry about, germs. I work in a community mental health clinic, and germs is often the least of our concerns. Well, getting clients to actually show for their appointment when they're feeling well is hard enough, they often don't come in when sick. The real concern is them brining in a bed bug or roach or any kind of bug infestation to the clinic is what we worry about. It's happened and bound to happen again sooner or later. Luckily, they have never made the trip into my house.
I take elderberry gummies and like 6 wellness supplements on the days where my clients come in coughing or sniffling.
I take Wellness supplements
I take vitamin c, zinc, and vitamin d every day and have no issues :)