Returning after taking a break
March 12, 2021

I was talking today with some of my cuddle colleagues and some of them are opening up their practice to see clients in person again. If you are reading this from the future, the context of this time in 2021 is that we have been practicing physical distancing due to a global Covid19/Coronavirus pandemic for about a year now. It has been difficult on all of us to have this distance from our fellow human beings. Many cuddle practitioners changed thier practice to only offer virtual sessions. We have learned a lot of great new skills and developed new tools for connecting through technology, but we are all eager to get back to connecting face to face.

Anytime we take a break from something it takes a while to get those skills back and get our brain back in to the groove. Remember when you went back to college as an adult and you had to learn how to learn again? Or when you travel to a foreign country and have to spend some time brushing up your foreign language skills? This is the same thing.



Here are some tips for returning to something after being away for while:

1. Realize that you are rusty and you will need to brush up your skills. Be kind to yourself about this. It is really easy to get frustrated when you forget things that once were second nature.

2. Do go over your procedures and review your trainings.

3. This may be a good time to see if there are any changes you want to implement before you start up again. But don't worry too much about this, starting up is enough of a project.

4. Use a checklist.

5. Start Slow - You may have been used to doing 5 sessions back to back, but you might have to work up to that as you are coming back to it.



If you don't do anything else, develping a checklist for the first few sessions back is probably the least time consuming for the most useful return. I know when I very first started doing sessions I developed a checklist. Soon it became automatic. That automatic muscle memory has atrophied and probably needs some help to develop again. Checklists are very useful tools. If you have time, you can read or check out The Checklist Manifesto, it is a really good book. I recommend it.

Some things you may want on your checklist:

• Physical space fix up - if you are hosting in your own space. Like putting on clean sheets, etc.
• Code of conduct agreement
• Check ID (or whatever your vetting protocols are)
• Exchange payment before the session.
• Notify my safety person where I am and remind them I will check in when I am done at a specific time
• Set a timer for 10 minutes before the end of the session and a second one for the end of the session (I often forget to do this and then I get distracted checking the time)
• Go over Oxytocin drop and what the client might expect in the next few days
• Ask the client if you can check in with them tomorrow via text or what other preferred method?
• Notify my safety person that the session is over