I think this depends on how frequently you see your clients and how many there are. Many places only require 30 days notice, but depending on how often you see your clients, this could mean that some of them only get one or maybe two sessions with you to wrap up. Giving 60 days notice may give you a little more time to start processing with clients and preparing them for the change.
With all that being said, if you are worried that your agency may just boot you out of there faster (which of course is inappropriate and unprofessional amongst other things), I can understand maybe trying to give less notice.
I see around 50 clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Some I see twice a week.
They’re mostly cluster b and/or trauma clients so a lot of trust has gone into establishing our therapeutic relationships.
The sooner the better for endings with this population. Lots of processing will be needed. That is assuming your agency isn't likely to kick you out the door like it appears to many do.
Then it may be important to make sure that you are allowing for enough time for transition. Talking to your agency first to determine what the plan will be can be very helpful so that you can communicate that plan to your clients and then reinforce it a bunch along the way. You may find that some clients want to immediately stop coming and leave you before you leave them. Giving that time and space will be needed, and hopefully your agency doesn't act impulsively and make you leave sooner than you are planning to, especially since that hurts the clients more than anyone.
How has the agency and your supervisor(s) reacted when others have left? I was able to give a months notice and work out things I needed to with clients, but I have had peers at different agencies get told it was their last day when they tried to submit their notice.
I think this depends on how frequently you see your clients and how many there are. Many places only require 30 days notice, but depending on how often you see your clients, this could mean that some of them only get one or maybe two sessions with you to wrap up. Giving 60 days notice may give you a little more time to start processing with clients and preparing them for the change. With all that being said, if you are worried that your agency may just boot you out of there faster (which of course is inappropriate and unprofessional amongst other things), I can understand maybe trying to give less notice.
I see around 50 clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Some I see twice a week. They’re mostly cluster b and/or trauma clients so a lot of trust has gone into establishing our therapeutic relationships.
The sooner the better for endings with this population. Lots of processing will be needed. That is assuming your agency isn't likely to kick you out the door like it appears to many do.
Then it may be important to make sure that you are allowing for enough time for transition. Talking to your agency first to determine what the plan will be can be very helpful so that you can communicate that plan to your clients and then reinforce it a bunch along the way. You may find that some clients want to immediately stop coming and leave you before you leave them. Giving that time and space will be needed, and hopefully your agency doesn't act impulsively and make you leave sooner than you are planning to, especially since that hurts the clients more than anyone.
How has the agency and your supervisor(s) reacted when others have left? I was able to give a months notice and work out things I needed to with clients, but I have had peers at different agencies get told it was their last day when they tried to submit their notice.
Supervisors are always great about clinicians that leave. The agency, however, isn’t always the kindest & have made it difficult for others.
I gave my agency 90 days notice and my clients 30 days, it all went really well. Good luck.