Back to the Office: COVID-19 RECOVERY
Hello everyone! Thank you for being kind and patient while we all try to navigate the various phases of COVID-19 recovery. On May 9th, 2020, The province of New Brunswick as well as the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers gave us permission to resume in-person practice.
I am thrilled to resume my face-to-face practice with clients, but as the Government of New Brunswick states in their guidance document, this is not business as usual, and could return back to the previous phases where only telehealth will be available if there is another big outbreak.
All businesses that are permitted to open at this time must have a plan in place that follows safety guidelines outlined by Public Health and Work Safe NB. The article as follows outlines the safety plan for Conscious Counselling and Wellness operations during this time.
- Clients will be asked to wash or sanitize their hands thoroughly before entering the building and the office.
- Prior to session, clients will be asked screening questions for COVID-19 by their counsellor, and politely asked to leave if they present any single symptom.
- All doorknobs and surfaces will be sanitized before and after every client meeting.
- Office seating permits client and counsellor to sit 2 metres apartment, and both parties will commit to upholding this physical distance when in office.
- Clients and counsellor will practice proper respiratory etiquette, such as coughing or sneezing into the elbow.
- Counsellor will reschedule all in-person appointments if they have any symptoms of sickness.
Additional strong suggestions on my part:
- Clients should attempt to arrive close to their appointment time and not early so to avoid congesting the hallways, as this office is located in a building with other businesses.
- If a client must arrive early, I suggest bringing a mask to wear while waiting in the hallway.
Finally, a note on MY process of integrating people back into the office-
Over the past two months I have had many clients switch over to video counselling, quite a few new clients begin on video, and have many clients who are waiting to get back into the office who were holding off on their next appointment until we could do face-to-face.
I ask for your kindness and patience as I navigate scheduling. I hope to have everyone contacted for scheduling office visits by next Monday. Expect to hear from me within the next week, or give me a call at your convenience and I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner!
I look forward to making counselling work in this space once again!
