Telehealth.
For many of us, working like this is nothing new. Before Covid we used FaceTime or simply the phone to catch up with patients who couldn't come into the office that day for whatever reason. The difference is that insurance didn't cover it, and now-- at least for now-- it does-- and we are ever-so-grateful.
Am I less busy?
No. In many ways, the profession is more busy. But cutting out the commute time has helped enormously.
Some people are mostly interested in my research. Because of my doctoral studies and the work that followed, I host programs to prevent sexual harassment. There's certainly less of that going on in the workplace while people work from home, but more abuse and harassment at home. So prevention is still a priority, and yes, the program is virtual.
No matter how we work, a therapist has to have her BIASES. Click here for those.
Thumbnail of the research: It always found me. Even my doctoral dissertation, Parental Acceptance of Gay and Lesbian Children. On a break from school in Israel I found myself working in a research assistantship with Yoel Elizur, an esteemed psychologist and educator. The topic? Homosexuality. A few years later, sexual assault on campus became impossible to ignore. Following that study came another. Xavier University tapped me for more of the same, but add, if you don't mind, sexual harassment.
Thumbnail on being a therapist.
For me the thinking is always systems, dating back to the 80's and a family therapy certificate. But systems vary from person, to the family, to school and work. Still, people are individuals and often they need individual attention first and foremost. It is a wonderful feeling sinking into that sofa, talking your head off. Even when you think there's nothing to say, you find it isn't nearly as hard as you thought it would be.
And crazy as it is, I still love listening, find that having worked this profession for so many years, I can add perspective, be a change agent. It makes me so grateful. There is nothing better.
Relationship-Wise, Inc.
2007 – 2018
Our initial program became overwhelmingly complicated, the very opposite of the intention. A group of mental health and medical professionals, we thought we could branch out to athletics, politics, corporations, schools— you name it— anywhere people fail to respect one another’s boundaries.
Relationship-wise, LLC
2019 – Now
It was an easy jump to pair the whole thing down and work in corporations with human resource personnel. We knew that they needed more information than their employees and we were equipped to help. We still do that. There’s a video for executives, one for HR, and of course, one for the entire company.
Consulting
2007–Now
Linda Freedman PhD, when she is not building a better mousetrap to prevent sexual harassment, is a clinician who works with individuals and couples. Much of the work is telemedicine. Even therapy has gone online.
The focus on sexual harassment began with amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making it a type of sex discrimination, a class protected by federal law. New state laws, such as one in Illinois, have mandated that every company provide sexual harassment prevention training to every employee, no matter his or her status, be it part-time, consulting, or by contract.