Online Therapy
Why Have Online Therapy?
- It offers an alternative if you aren’t ready for in-person therapy yet.
- You can do it from the comfort and private space of your own home.
- There is no travel time, or travel and parking costs.
- It is useful if you live rurally or have disability access requirements.
- It offers flexibility if you travel a lot.
- It can be done alongside face to face therapy.
Online Therapy Options
I offer online therapy via video and voice conferencing, email and instant messaging, and sessions via telephone.
What Does a Therapist Need to Work Online?
When looking for an online therapist they should be relevantly trained e.g. either a certificate or diploma in online therapy. There are differences in the dynamics between seeing a client in person and working with someone online and this can require additional specialist training. The BACP guidelines says;
“Online provision is a specialist area, requiring a level of competence at least as high as that for face-to-face work.”
What Platforms Do You Use?
I use Zoom for video and voice sessions, and ProtonMail for email. Both these platforms are securely encrypted. You will be required to join these free services to begin therapy.
For online sessions I recommend that you chose a private setting which is comfortable and use this place for all our sessions. This will help to create the familiarity of a safe and consistent therapeutic space.
How Does Online Therapy Differ from In Person Therapy?
Online therapy does differ from seeing a therapist in person. These differences include feeling naturally more disinhibited online, known as the disinhibition effect, asynchronous ways of relating when using email, and the lack of visual and audio cues. Apart from these physical differences, online therapy still provides very effective emotional support. With video I am still able to use many of the creative tools I use in-person including Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Matrix Reimprinting, and Matrix Birth Reimprinting.
What Can I Talk About?
As with in-person therapy you can discuss and explore anything you like.
When Isn’t Online Therapy Suitable?
Online therapy isn’t suitable for anyone in a life-threatening crisis. If this is the case please contact a crisis helpline (Samaritans, 116 123), call 999 or go to a hospital A&E department, or go to the appropriate services if you are overseas.
Online counselling also isn’t suitable for clients who are experiencing dissociative identity disorder (DID) and/or are experiencing psychotic episodes and in need of intense support and hospitalisation.
As with my in-person practice I’m not allowed to provide online therapy to anyone under the age of 18.
Email Therapy
Email therapy is slightly different in that it’s asynchronous. This means that communication isn’t simultaneous. An appointment will consist of one email exchange per week. We will agree on a set time for the exchange of our messages.
You might want to consider spending 50 minutes writing it to maintain the boundary of a traditional therapy session. Working this way should give you time to reflect upon your experience, one of the many advantages of this type of therapy. I will also spend 50 minutes reading and composing a reply to your email.
Cost
The cost for online video, voice, instant messaging, and telephone therapy is the same as my in-person fee.
Ethical Practice
I abide by the code of good practice laid out by the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online (ACTO).
If you are interested in online sessions, please contact me here.