Taking a Sabbatical from Online Therapy and Online Supervision

I’ve been pondering the idea for awhile now, and with a monumental to-do list of not-yet-started projects, plus less than a year left before my daughter makes her first foray into the educational system, I’ve decided it’s time to take a sabbatical from providing online therapy and online supervision services.

Since starting my online work in 2003, I have been fortunate enough always to have had clients to work with whenever I was available (my longest break being 3 months of paternity leave in late 2006, early 2007). I am truly grateful for that, and I recognise that many would-be online counsellors and therapists struggle to connect with more than a handful of paying clients even after years of trying. But with a seemingly permanent waiting list, a mountain of tasks related to maintaining and growing this web site and several others, plus a steady flow of requests for outside consulting and help with student projects, I’ve found it increasingly challenging to maintain the sort of balance I prefer between family life, counselling work, and other projects.

So in 2009, I’m going to see what I can do with the other areas of my life — family, various web projects, writing and research — when I’m not focusing on client work each day.

I’ll still be around, of course — here at CounsellingResource.com, supporting my colleagues with the new online counselling service at MyTherapist.com which we spun off from this site last year, and more — but with a bit more time for myself and my family. I know that prospective clients who might have wondered about working with me will be well served by my colleagues at MyTherapist.com.

Many thanks to all the folks out there who have helped make this site a success (yep, that means you!), and I’m looking forward to what the New Year holds for us all.