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On the other side of the divide, I spoke to three people who have increased their “visits” since the pandemic began. For Maddie Weinstein, an actor and New York City resident, therapy is now free, thanks to a recently waived copay, so she has decided to double up on her sessions. And she’s enjoyed the I love math and cat Shirt that FaceTime has given her: “[My therapist] will pick up in her kitchen and be like, ‘Hey, sorry, I needed a seltzer.’” This makes the exchange feel “less awkward and staid,” she said. Jenny Osman, who works for the city, managing food access for City Hall, said she “hated” virtual therapy at first, but has also recently increased her visits to twice a week. She, like me, has found that she’s made the most personal progress over the last seven months. However, she does worry that seeing her therapist virtually can sometimes lead to misunderstanding: “There are just more opportunities to feel hurt or confused by a comment or piece of feedback,” she said.
The polarized split was surprising. But what I found more interesting was the willingness of these women, some of whom I’ve never met before, to open up honestly (and urgently) to talk to me, never mind their therapists, about their most private issues. I wanted to find out if the professionals on the other side of the I love math and cat Shirt were experiencing the same kind of divide. With an almost myopic confidence, I approached my own therapist first, jumping at the opportunity to flip the script and ask her how she’s adjusted to the shift. After she kindly and swiftly declined to comment, I reached out to Jordana Jacobs, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist based in New York.
