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Hi, my name is Kim Clemens and I am a trauma, addictions, and art therapist in Annapolis, Maryland. I was invited to this project by Laura Sislen. They are a friend of mine and my fiance's. So I just wanted to share a little bit about how COVID has impacted me personally as well as professionally. It's been a very profound year for a lot of people and I think throughout this experience the number one thing that has stood out to me has been positivity and gratitude for the things that I have for the things that have been going on and the spirit of connection to other people. So I'm going to just take you back a little bit to February. I had a trip to the Philippines planned. It got cancelled because of covidthat was going to be my first and only vacation that was scheduled for this year and I was really, really disappointed. I had never been there before and I was really looking forward to the time away. As a counselor and therapist, I find my job just very emotionally taxing and so I was looking for that opportunity to have a structured break. So with the news of everything going on and the cancellation of the trip everything just felt very negative and very stressful, anxiety-inducing, and confusing. I don't think anyone really knew what was happening or how long anything was going to be. So in the beginning, me being an introvert, I really appreciated the time that I could step away from coming into the office. I was doing majority of my sessions via Zoom, via the online platform, and really in the first couple weeks enjoying that time that I was at home. I didn't have to wear pants maybe necessarily and that was a good experience, but then throughout the month, I noticed just a severe change in my own mental health as well as my clients. So, something that I've been noticing over the past year has been this collective and shared grieving and I think that's really fascinating and so important that, you know, all over the world, all over country, in Maryland, and, you know, the the town that I live in now just having a shared connection with other people, feeling the anxiety, or the depression, the hope, the positivity, the silver linings in some of the things that have been happening. It's just been really fascinating especially to be able to talk about it and feel that while in session with someone else.

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So, that's been just a really interesting experience for me. Not only are you going into a session to help people and listen to them and understand what they're going through. It's like, you know, you yourself are going through a very similar experience and can relate on so many different levels. So that's been one takeaway for me at work. I've been noticing as well having to just take more time for self-care. I think of myself as a pretty positive person, but I have definitely increased my gratitude over this past year. So a couple things that have happened to me that have been really positive throughout covid has been I got engaged and I also was able to buy my first house. So going back to February when my Philippines trip got canceled. I was able to receive that money back and save that. The interest rate also is very low because of covid so that was advantageous for me and buying my first house, as well as professionally, I have been able to do a lot of online training. So I have, working towards a certification in EMDR therapy, desensitization reprocessing which for clients that have trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder as other as well as other mental health illnesses. So there have been a lot of really positive things that have been happening for me given this year and that to me also, also has been really eye-opening. Other people have been, you know, really feeling the negative side of this grief and loss, sadness, isolation declining mental health, and self-care and so for me, it's been-I've-I've re-prioritized that to be something really important that I want to focus on. So some of the takeaways that I've gotten out of this have been how to slow down, how to refocus, and just really enjoying the small things like taking a walk with my fiancé, enjoying nature, getting back into some creative outlets for me, journaling, painting, crafting, scrapbooking. So that's been something I've been really excited about just trying to seek healthy connection given the fact that we are really unable to reach out as we did before in person - large group gatherings and things like that. So I think I'm a really creative person in that. I've tried finding a way to replace that in a really healthy way and that's kind of something I talk about with my clients. So, you know, this is made me look at myself even more and be more introspective. I think, ultimately, I hope that we carry away some sort of hope,some sort of understanding about connection and hopefully wanting to examine more about mental health and promote empathy and awareness.

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So I - all in all - it's been a good year for me. I am kind of riding the waves just like everyone else and kind of doing my best in that and so I've tried to be really gentle with myself and with other people, kind of knowing where they're coming from, or kind of anticipating, you know, people aren't 100% - they're going through struggles. We're all feeling that collective grieving. So I just really appreciate the time that I've been able to share all of this with you. Thank you.