At A Therapy Mind we generally work online with clients. We find that clients see many advantages to online therapy, such as accessibility, flexibility, comfort, ease of communication, greater choice and a high sense of control. These days there is more choice than ever in many areas and it feels empowering that in the world of therapy, the development of choice via the digital world can be advantageous. There are many benefits of online therapy. In this post we go through the most significant ones:
Flexibility of Location
One significant benefits of online therapy sessions is the flexibility. You are are not tied to the location of your therapist as you can work on a platform such as Zoom or WhatsApp with them. All you need in place for your online therapy to be effective is privacy, a strong internet or phone connection, a device and a perhaps a camera. As well as not being limited by location within your own country, you even have the option of working internationally with your therapist.
Many clients enjoy having online therapy from the comfort of their own homes. It can also be more realistically fitted in to a busy life which might include parenting and work responsibilities. Online therapy is more diversity friendly in this way as it can accommodate those who are unable to travel to their therapist due to disabilities, transport challenges or living in a remote part of the world.
Increased Affordability
Since online therapy may incur less overheads for the therapist, they can often price their services more competitively. This could make a big difference to the affordability for clients. It may be that online therapy will enable the practitioner to offer a pro bono place or two to certain clients who are very financially challenged. This is important because one of the biggest barriers to therapy is affordability. The cost of living these days means that many people either can’t afford it or can only afford therapy for a limited time, which may not be sufficient to complete the work they need.
Greater Choice
One of the benefits of online therapy is that the client has more choice when it comes to working with therapists. It can take time to find the right fit and the client and therapist can be encouraged to have a discovery session to make as assessment as to whether it is right they work together. Online therapy means that there is a much wider pool of therapists aside from those in their immediate vicinity. With greater choice, comes greater client empowerment and a high chance to connecting with someone with the right mix of experience, approach and skills.
Easier Planning
When engaging in online therapy, it’s easier to use digital diary planning tools to book the sessions in advance. Appointment booking software can link to online calendars and meetings can be scheduled many weeks into the future. Automatic reminders can also be set up to help both client and therapist manage their time and organise their schedule. This can also take the stress out of making decisions and keeping track of time. Online therapy is an example of how the digital world can be used to help us with productivity and enable the smoother running of a busy life.
Neurodivergent Friendly
When it comes to clients of varying neurotypes, online therapy can be preferable. For example, some Autistic clients find direct eye contact too intense and dysregulating so online therapy can make this easier. We tend to look at the person’s eyes through a screen but this does not feel as intense as it would in person for some people. Clients with ADHD may find that they can more comfortably move around or stim when having online therapy because some of their body is out of view. Anything that contributes to making things feel more comfortable and safe is a positive when it comes to engaging with therapy.
Disability Friendly
Some clients are housebound due to physical or mental health challenges so these clients need the option of online therapy. There are also clients living with chronic pain or chronic fatigue for whom the idea of getting to a face to face location is not realistic. Online therapy can also serve blind and hard of hearing clients due to the advancement of technology. Those who are wheelchair bound, recovering from and accident or who need access to their own bathroom can also use online therapy.
Creating a Sense of Control
One of the most significant benefits of online therapy is that it creates a sense of being in control and in the driving seat of life. The client has the ability to choose the modality of the therapy, whether it is by video call, phone call or messenger. There is a greater choice of therapist and many online therapists offer more options when it comes to timings too. So the client may have the control of accessing an early morning or late night session if they need to. When it comes to rearranging or cancelling, this can often be done more easily (e.g. via digital software) or more flexibly.
Privacy
Some clients worry about travelling to the location of their therapist. There may be unknowns about who else lives or works there. What if they were to bump into someone their know in the waiting room or outside? There may also be concerns about how soundproofed the room is and who else could hear them. With online therapy, the client can control these issues. They may simply feel better talking when in the comfort of their own environment and this gives them a valuable sense of privacy.
When it comes to online therapy, there are thankfully a lot of privacy measures that can be put in place for protection such as high grade encryption software, password protection and malware services. As long as the therapist has a good privacy policy in place and works in line with this, this adds data protection too.
Less Overwhelming
Some folk can be overloaded with the stimulation of meeting in person. Online therapy means the environment can be controlled. The client can adjust the lighting in their room as well as the brightness of the screen. There is the option of adjusting the volume and using headphones to block background noise. The client can also use apparatus such as a kneeling or ergonomic chair which may help with somatic overwhelm and therefore put them in a better position to receive therapy.
Health Protection
Since the COVID pandemic, many of us are taking the risk of contamination more seriously. Online therapy means viruses can not be passed on and this provides protection, especially to those who have compromised immune systems. It also means that if the client or therapist has a cold but is still able engage, the therapy can still take place without the risk of transmitting the virus. The pandemic took a large toll on the emotional wellbeing of many people. So online therapy can take away this anxiety for clients who are feeling nervous. It is an easy way to break down the barrier that the risk on contamination may throw up.
More Possibilities
Some say that online therapy can open up more ways of working. If the client feels more comfortable, then it stands to reason that they would have more energy and emotional resources to work harder and deeper in their therapy. If online therapy means the client can afford more sessions, this means the modality of therapy can vary. Working relationally can be very effective for clients but it takes time to build up the relationship.
Opportunity for Groupwork
Therapy groups can work very well online. As long as there is an option for video sessions and the group is not too large, it can be a supportive a positive space. It is challenging to bring groups of people together in person but more doable online due to the flexibility of location, timing and therapist.
Conclusion
We hope you have found this summary useful. There are clearly many benefits of online therapy but we appreciate that it is not suitable for all. Some may connect better in person and that should also be encouraged as an empowered choice. It may also be useful to switch to either online therapy or face to face therapy at different points in the journey. If you would like to explore neurodivergent focused therapy, do get in touch to book an initial call.