VICTORIA RODRIGUEZ: THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF OFFERING IN-HOME THERAPY | EP 40

Theory to practice

‘Part of my research [which] I’m really interested in right now is how counsellors who are doing home-based work [and] what they’re using to fill that gap [in practice] … how they are using theory.’ – Victoria Rodriguez 

With providing in-home therapy, there is no one modality to therapy. Counsellors who provide in-home therapy services need to find their own bridge between the counselling theory that they align with and how it shapes their counselling sessions. 

Having an understanding of counselling theory and where you stand with it can help you tremendously if you decide to provide in-home counselling. 

‘I personally cannot understand how [someone] can conceptualize clients without – at least – one or two theories backing up how you practice … yes it’s better for the client, but isn’t it also more structured for you?’ – Victoria Rodriguez 

If you want to delve deeper into finding out which counselling theories you work best with, and could better inform your therapy practice, check out this theoretical fit quiz to find your strengths. 

The insights of in-home therapy services 

Having a therapist visit the client in their home can provide a huge amount of benefits and insight that are valuable to the therapy. 

The therapist can see the client’s living environment, and whom they live with, and detect a small piece of their quality of life – all of which adds a lot of nuance and depth to the therapy that the therapist can provide clients with. 

‘There [are] so many pros to it … being able to see their environment, see, “Alright, who’s living in the home? Where are they doing their work? Where are they feeling the most comfortable?” [It] just gives you so much contextual information.’ – Victoria Rodriguez 

Another pro of offering in-home therapy services is that it makes therapy so much more accessible. Some clients may be injured, bed-bound, or unable to travel long distances and still need and desire counselling services. 

Practicing safety as an in-home therapist 

If you are travelling between client homes to offer and provide therapy to clients, there will be moments where you need to make a decision based on your safety.. 

‘What might be uncomfortable for me because of my identity might be a safety issue for a black colleague … or [for] my male co-workers, a [similar] situation might not be as unsafe for them as it is for me. So again, it really depends on that context.’ – Victoria Rodriguez 

Determine if the situation that you are about to enter is safe for you, if it isn’t, refer the client to another therapist. 

You can also develop a safety plan and checklist for yourself. Some of the safety checklist steps include: 

• Backing up into a client’s driveway so that you can leave quickly if you need to 
• Phoning the client before the session to check that they are home and if they have any additional family or visitors in the home 
• Situate yourself to the closest exist possible without having the client block an additional exit 
• Avoid sitting between two family members 
• Don’t sit in a poorly lit area in your car to finish notes after the session 
• Share your location with your supervisor or colleague 

The benefits of in-home therapy 

Some benefits for the therapist include being in control of your schedule because you can take in-home clients whenever you choose to (and have telehealth sessions in between). 

The benefits for clients, however, are fantastic. Some therapists that offer in-home therapy sometimes offer cooking therapy with their clients, trauma-informed yoga, and even eco-therapy! 

‘There are just lots of options that are available when you are travelling to [client’s] homes. I think it’s also a particularly well-suited … way to treat OCD or even hoarding disorder … [there are] so many specific diagnoses that might benefit from having somebody there in your home to help you create systems in your home that work for you.’ – Victoria Rodriguez