What is Online Counselling?
Online counselling is counselling over video call, using platforms such as Teams, Zoom, Doxy.me and VSee. It’s been around for quite a while but has grown in popularity since the pandemic.
You may wonder why someone would choose online counselling over face-to-face. Let’s have a look at some of the benefits.
What are the benefits of online counselling?
Anywhere: Online counselling means you’re not limited by your location, so you can connect with a therapist anywhere in the country. This is good if you live somewhere remote or struggle to get out of the house. Or maybe you just can’t find a counsellor you gel with or who offers what you’re looking for in your area.
Convenient: Sessions can be easier to fit around your schedule. For example, maybe you’re unable to get childcare, or need to plan your sessions around work.
Freeing: Some people actually find it easier to talk when they’re not physically in the same room as the other person. You may be someone who feels uncomfortable talking face-to-face, and while this is still technically the case, the perceived distance can be freeing for some.
Familiar: Perhaps you are someone who needs to be in your own, familiar surroundings to feel safe and comfortable to talk.
Cost-efficient: You can save on public transport or petrol costs as well as parking charges, as free parking may not always be available on-site. Saving money is always a bonus in these difficult financial times!
Are there any drawbacks?
You may question whether online therapy is as good as face-to-face, but studies have shown that it can be just as effective.
However, here are some things to consider:
Connection: Some people do value the felt sense they get from being in the room with someone, so they need that face-to-face connection. For others, this isn’t so important.
Need for Distance: It may be that you’re someone who needs to put a sense of distance between what you talk about in your sessions and your home life, not wanting to bring your troubles home with you.
Privacy: If you don’t have privacy in your home, perhaps for example, if you are seeking help for domestic abuse, then it may be best for you to have face-to-face sessions.
Technical Difficulties: There’s always the possibility of Wi-Fi issues. If your connection is poor, you may not pick up on what each other say, or you may lose connection altogether. (If this happens in my sessions, I will always call my client on the phone right away and continue the conversation this way. It’s important to agree things like this with your therapist beforehand.) If your camera and/or microphone aren’t that great, this can again make it tricky to hear everything, and your counsellor may not be able to pick up on things like facial expressions as easily. This isn’t necessarily always a problem, but it’s worth considering whether you have the right equipment. The good news is, many laptops have decent built-in cameras and microphones these days, or you can generally buy them pretty cheaply.
As with most things in counselling, it really is individual.
If you are interested in online counselling, I offer sessions via Microsoft Teams (which you can download and use for free!) Or if you want a mix of online and face-to-face, depending on your schedule, this is an option too. Feel free to get in touch here.
And until next time, take care.
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