Mindful Scheduling

In graduate school one professor told our class that he saw about twenty clients a week. I remember wondering why he was working “part-time.” I had worked long hours in my business career and did not comprehend the vast amount of energy and focus it takes to be an attuned, skilled therapist.

Once I started my internship, I noticed I was tired on the days when I saw more clients or several people in a row without a break. I was exploring my clinical capacity and eventually realized that I was comfortable with about twenty clients a week, just like my professor.

When I was experiencing health problems, I reduced my schedule. Parents of young children or caregivers to elderly parents may have less capacity than someone who is single. There are countless reasons why some people prefer to work more or less. There is no right answer and your capacity may change over time.

Over the years, I have discovered that my sweet spot for clients is five individual clients a day or four clients and one group, working four days a week. There are days when I see more than five people and it’s fine and other days when I need a lighter schedule. Another thing I’ve noticed is that I’m less tired when I’m doing more Brainspotting or EMDR sessions.

Group therapy is exciting and sometimes fast paced. When I’m running a group, I need to focus on multiple transferences, and this requires lots of energy. When I finish running a group, I write my notes and take a long break.

Sometimes I practice “shuttling” from Dr. Louis Cozolino’s work; he is a psychologist who teaches and writes about psychotherapy and neuroscience. In his book “The Making of a Therapist,” Cozolino (2004) defines shuttling as “ . . . the movement of your awareness inside of yourself, over to your client and back again.” He “shuttles” up into his head and down into his body to notice his own perspective (top down) and limbic countertransference (bottom up) and whatever images, emotions, thoughts, and sensations are present during that exploration. Then he carefully considers the information and decides whether or not to incorporate it into the session. My countertransference impacts my energy level and I do my best to be aware of it to prevent myself from “working too hard” and to inform my clinical work.

In the early days of the pandemic, I noticed I felt drained and so did my clients. Now my energy is back up, and my capacity has increased again. Although I’m working from home, I still prefer to limit my clinical days to four so I can have an administrative/bike ride day on Fridays and a full weekend. I don’t check email on Saturdays and Sundays, my out of office reply tells people I will respond on Monday and it feels great to completely disconnect during the weekend.

Managing my time consciously has created more balance in my schedule. I know this sounds “old school” but I noticed I was able to be more precise about my schedule when I could see the entire week on paper so I switched from using my iPad calendar to a paper appointment book; I still have some bad habits and sometimes I respond too quickly to clients’ rescheduling requests. I try to remember to pause and take a few breaths when someone requests a different appointment time on a day that is already full. I consider my plans for that day and whether I will have the capacity to be present for another person. I want to finish my workday with some remaining energy for my personal life. We all have varying levels of physical and emotional capacity for our work, and I hope that reading this article inspires you to explore the schedule that feels right for you today and if you are anything like me your preferences will continue to change over time.

Maria Gray, LMFT, NMP, CGP, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Century City, she is a Brainspotting Specialist and specializes in trauma and addictions. Maria is a Certified Group Therapist and currently offers three online groups in her practice. She enjoys working with adults who grew up around mentally ill or addictive family members. To learn more, go to www.mariagray.net.