Reflecting on 2020
What a year it’s been, eh? Please excuse the radio silence on here for the last couple of months; it’s taken me a while to get back into a creative groove!
Every day has had its challenges, but I’m still here and doing a job I love, and I’m looking forward to 2021. For now though, here are some of my thoughts on 2020…
Biggest lessons
“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Personal
By far and away, the biggest personal lesson I’ve learned this year is to make taking care of myself a priority. At times I’ve felt overwhelmed, helpless and exhausted, and I’ve let the very foundations of self-care slide (i.e. not getting enough sleep, not sticking to a regular exercise routine, and not taking regular breaks).
The first thing I’ve put into my diary and planners for 2021 is regular time off so that I treat it as a commitment, rather than an “optional extra”. Even if I don’t use all of the time to go away on holiday, knowing that I will be taking regular breaks helps me to focus on - and make the most of - the time I will be working.
The other big personal lesson I’ve learned this year is to keep reaching out to the important people in my life. To keep checking in on the strong ones, the busy ones, the quiet ones, the seemingly super-happy ones, and the ones I haven’t heard from for a while.
Even if they’re genuinely okay, I know that they’ll appreciate that I reached out to them and let them know I’m thinking of them. And if they are struggling, I know that I don’t need to fix anything or have exactly the right thing to say, simply knowing that I’ll be there as and when they’re ready is enough.
Professional
When I started my private practice, knowing that I’d have to put myself out there if I was going to have any chance of getting clients was terrifying. I worried about how to find a balance between showing my humanity and holding boundaries around how much of myself and my life to share. Over the last 12 months, I think I’ve found a balance that works for me, and one of my key goals for 2021 is to be more organised and consistent with blogging and posting social media content.
I’ve also come to appreciate my ability to adapt to, and weather, change in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Although it’s undoubtedly had its challenges, Covid enabled me to adapt my way of working to include online sessions, which is something I hadn’t even considered doing before! It’s meant that I’ve been able to help more people from a wider area, or who are local but unable to travel for any reason, which has been a great benefit for new and existing clients.
Biggest achievements
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”
Hands down, my biggest achievement of 2020 has to be launching a business just as a pandemic hit, and still being here almost a year later. Taking the leap to go self-employed was scary, but it’s the best decision I’ve made and has given me so much confidence to try new things and to put myself out there.
I loved delivering some online workshops in partnership with Freelance Hull and the Ellesmere Centre, and although I’d have preferred to deliver them face-to-face, they still gave me a real confidence boost. I’m planning some new workshops for 2021, and I’ve got ideas for topics that will be aimed at the general public, as well as some for therapists, which is exciting! Keep an eye on my social media and my website for more information about these if you’re interested.
Plans for 2021
“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
I’m due to complete my fourth year of training in June 2021 so that I can go for accreditation with UKCP as a Psychotherapist. It means I’ll still be juggling completing assignments with running my practice for the next six months, but I’m focusing on this being the final push now. Although I’ve loved the course and feel like I’ve grown and changed beyond belief within myself, I can’t wait to finish and get my weekends back!
One of the things I’m most excited about for 2021 is building a Peer Support Group for therapists who are thinking about or are in the early stages of private practice. Branching out on my own has been liberating and exciting, but it can be lonely and isolating from time-to-time as well, so it feels important to make space to connect and get support. I’ll also be inviting members of the group to contribute to a new monthly feature on my blog where we’ll be talking about mental health and the world of therapy, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
I’ve got lots more exciting plans for the year, and I’ll be revealing more about these over the coming weeks and months, so keep checking back here and on my social media for updates!
Thank you!
“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
As we leave an incredibly challenging year behind and move into the unknowns of 2021, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking time to read my posts, engage with my content on social media, and just generally celebrate and support me and my business.
Being a therapist is a huge privilege and a joy, and I am so grateful for my wonderful clients who share so much of themselves and their stories with me. I’ll be taking some time out from client work from Wednesday 23rd December 2020 and sessions will be available again from Monday 4th January 2021.
If you’re struggling with your mental health and think I might be the therapist for you, I’ll be taking on new clients again from January 2021. Please feel free to contact me via Instagram or Facebook @emmapooleytherapy, or email me via emma@emmapooleytherapy.com if you’d like some more information.
In the meantime, I hope you are able to take a break over the next few weeks, and I’ll see you in 2021!