In my last post, I wrote about the value of therapists using scripts and templates. Now, I am giving you permission to steal my most requested script/template and you should use it!
Therapists often ask for permission to use my automated out of office email reply. Why? I turn on my out of office setting every single weekend and they want to do the same thing. I use this strategy to help me communicate and hold boundaries around communication with my clients outside of my work hours, but also hold general boundaries around communication outside of session.
Why Therapists Should Tighten Up Boundaries Around Communication
Tightening up boundaries around communication with clients outside of session can have a huge impact on a therapist’s level of overwhelm. I know from personal experience + helping lots of therapists with this area of their practices.
It’s not uncommon for overwhelmed therapists to tell me they feel like they need to regularly check and respond to client email and voicemail messages, even when it’s outside of their work hours. This practice leads to therapists feeling exhausted and like they are never really “off duty”. It is 100% unnecessary to do this if we communicate with our clients about our availability and advise them about what they should do if an urgent matter/emergency arises between sessions.
Clients just want to know how to best communicate with us and when to expect a response.
Steps for Therapists to Tighten Up Boundaries Around Communication
- Make sure you are clear about your work hours. It’s hard to hold boundaries if you are feeling uncertain about your schedule. If you are currently all over the place with your schedule, spend some time here before moving on.
- In the initial stages of therapy with a new client, clearly communicate about when you are available and what can be expected in terms of response time to communication outside of session. Ideally this is included in your initial client paperwork as well as a verbal discussion you have with clients. Depending on your setting, it may also be helpful to clarify what types of things can be addressed briefly between sessions, what needs to wait for more in depth discussion during the next session and what necessitates the use of a crisis or emergency resource.
Note: If you haven’t had these conversations in the past, you can still start now and think of it as a change in policy that you need to communicate to your clients.
- Share information about your availability and response time in your outgoing voicemail message, email out of office response and anywhere else a potential client may be going to contact you. You have my permission to steal my script (shared below) and adapt it for your practice.
- Carve out time in your work week to respond to voicemails and emails, so this does not spill over into your non-work time and/or contribute to increased anxiety.
As I mentioned, in addition to the above steps I have found it helpful to use the automated out of office reply feature on my email each and every weekend. My work schedule changes throughout the year, but allows for long weekends every weekend. I don’t expect that my clients, potential clients or other contacts can know or should remember the nuances of my schedule, but I still want them to know when they can expect a response from me so turning on this automated reply each weekend helps.
You have my permission to steal my script below and adapt it for your practice. I tweak this script for my outgoing voicemail message as well as my extended absence email auto response.
Steal My Script!
Hello,
Thank you for your message. I am currently out of the office and will respond to your message as soon as I am able to do so. Please be aware that I am in the office (Insert day of the week) through (Insert day of the week) and generally do not respond to email messages on (Insert days of the week-if relevant) over the weekend or on holidays. I appreciate your patience in awaiting my reply.
If you are a current counseling client who is in crisis please contact (insert crisis resource + phone number)
Thank you,
(Insert name of therapist)
If you decide to implement this script in your practice, I’d love to hear about how it impacts your communication with clients + level of overwhelm. Email me at sarah@sarahleitschuhcounseling.com any time (but I’ll respnd during my work hours).
Take Care,
Sarah
By the way–I can help if you are struggling with establishing practice policies, implementing boundaries or wording your scripts/templates. Claim a complimentary 20-minute strategy call here.
My favorite part of this article is when you’re first starting therapy with a new client, be explicit about when you’ll be accessible and how long you’ll take to respond to correspondence outside of sessions. Someone recently told me about this and it is different from what I understand. Thanks for helping me understand psychologist services.