Why Choose Online Therapy?
One of my goals for this year was to start offering online therapy. Thanks to COVID-19, I’ve reached that goal much quicker than I expected, making the decision in the course of just a few days to move all of my sessions online to protect my family, patients, and community. While there are several reasons that some people may prefer to go back to in-office sessions when it’s safe to do so again, online therapy has some definite benefits, as well. Here are a few:
· You can attend sessions from the comfort of your own home or office. While some people may prefer an office setting, others have shared that they feel more at-ease in their own familiar environment, which has led to more productive sessions. As long as you can find a private area for sessions (no, sorry, I can’t do sessions if you’re in a coffee shop), there can also be a sense of increased privacy in doing sessions online (no sitting in a waiting room with other people waiting to be seen).
· You don’t have to worry about traffic or weather conditions. This means your schedule can be more predictable. Instead of having to set aside 2 hours for therapy, half of which is driving time, you can set aside just an hour for the actual session time.
· Distance is less of a factor, so you can choose the therapist who is the best fit for you. This is related to the last point, but I’m going to take it even farther here. Finding a therapist who is a good fit and conveniently located can sometimes be challenging. With online therapy, you can focus just on fit and less on location. You may even choose a therapist in a different city, or in some instances, a different state (as long as they’re licensed in your state, depending on your state’s laws).
· Screen sharing. This has been one of my favorite online therapy tools. It allows us to look at and fill out a document together. (I think screen sharing functions may vary depending on which platform you’re using, and some may not have this ability, but I love it!) Since I tend to use written work as part of my therapeutic process, this tool comes in really handy, and in some cases helps me to explain the forms better than if I were just handing it to a patient and having them fill it out on the other side of the therapy room.
What do you think about online therapy? Can you think of any benefits I’ve missed here? I’d love to hear from you!
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