hero-desktop-mac

A client I haven't seen for a while sent me the following:

"I just went online to schedule an appointment and was surprised to see you aren't coming to Park City any longer. When did you make this change? It is such a long drive for you I can understand but from a selfish perspective I am so disappointed! I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry to know you aren't available here in Park City any longer. Even though I didn't come to see you very often it was always a comfort to know you were here. Thanks for all you do."

I replied as follows:

I'm so sorry about the inconvenience and disappointment associated with my no longer coming to Park City. I greatly appreciate your trust and confidence in me. That means so much. I made this decision to close my Park City office a couple of months ago after much thought. I need to simplify the administration of my business as I am spending more time in my speaking and workshop delivery this year.

However, I do want you to know that we can still work together. Fortunately, due to the wonders of modern technology I am able to continue to work with clients who've moved away who now live all over the country and around the world via phone and/or video sessions (via Skype or Google Hangouts). The only difference here is that instead of them moving, I moved. While it's not quite the same as meeting face-to-face, it is amazing to me how really good it is—especially for you and I since we already know each other from meeting in person. In fact, I even have clients I've never met in person before (people who've been referred to me by other clients) and yet the quality of the relationship and personal connection we feel works extremely well. Just this morning I met with an American couple who live in China. We've been working together via Skype for a few months now and they find it very helpful. Most importantly for them, this option gave them the freedom and power to choose to work with who they wanted to work with vs. who was just available locally—and locally they didn't have many options to begin with in their area. Further, tomorrow I'm meeting with another client in Colorado and later this week with clients in Texas and Norway.

Personally, for you and I, the ability of getting to work with someone you already know and trust is a major advantage of this technology. In the past, when a therapist or client moved that was it. There was no option for what in the field we call "continuity of care" and the client would be left with stopping counseling or finding a new therapist. More often than not the former was more likely as the thought of starting over with a new therapist, bringing that therapist up-to-speed, and not knowing whether or not it would even be a good therapeutic fit is all too daunting for many clients. But now there is the option for continuity of care.

So that's just one option: phone and/or vid sessions--which cost no extra as Skype and Google Hangouts is free and the costs of long-distance calling are a thing of the past. There are other options, too. I do have some clients who drive down to meet me at my American Fork office and others who have me come to home visits in Park City (there is the additional cost of travel time, of course).

Let me know your thoughts. I would love to have the opportunity to continue our work together and to be there for you.

Best,

Jonathan

See these related posts: