Online Counselling
What is online Counselling?
Online counselling is very similar in many ways to traditional in person counselling, except rather than meeting the counselling room meetings occur online usually via a video conferencing app such as Zoom, Skype, FaceTime etc.
Advantages of Online Counselling.
The main advantages to online counselling are logistical. There is no need to travel across town to get to the therapy room. This saves time and costs. You only need to set aside the time for the therapy session and don’t have to factor in travel time, potential delays due to public transport issues or traffic.
The counselling can take place in a place of your choosing. Somewhere you feel comfortable. The counselling can continue when you are travelling, either for work or pleasure, as the therapy is not tied to a geographical location.
Also we no longer have to be in the same city. Online counselling is available UK wide meaning you can find the counsellor that is right for you.
Important considerations when choosing Online Counselling.
Counselling Space
It is ideal to have access to a room which is quiet, private and where you won’t be disturbed during the session.
This room may be in your home, your office, a private booth in a co working space, even your car or a local park. Anywhere you feel comfortable and able to express yourself fully.
Some spaces may influence the work, such as a room at home making it harder to talk about home life or a local park making it more difficult to express strong emotions. If this the case we will discuss this and find strategies that suit you to help you get the most from online counselling.
The disinhibiting effect
The disinhibiting effect is an effect that is seen in online communications where people may say or do things that they normally wouldn’t in person. This is due to the sense of distance and relative safety afforded by the medium. In the case of therapy this may lead to you going deeper and revealing more than you perhaps wanted to at that stage in therapy. This is something to be aware of and as a therapist I take this into consideration and may pause you to check that we are going at a pace you are happy with.
Cut off/Abandonment feeling
When the session ends it can feel abrupt and leave you feeling a sense of abandonment. This is because when the call ends it feels more permanent. In a face to face session, when you leave the room you still know that I am in the room, where as when an online call ends the sense of distance can feel greater. This again is just something to be aware of and normally is something people get used to very quickly.
Time
While on the surface it appears that less time is needed for online counselling as you only need to set time aside for the session but it is worth setting aside a little more time. I have noted and several clients who have moved from face to face to online have told me, they would use the time travelling to my room to think about would they want to bring to the session and review what’s been going on for them, then at the end of the session they would use the time it takes to travel back to process the session and think about the session and how they might like to use what they’ve learned.
When having online counselling it can be beneficial to give yourself five/ten minutes before the session to prepare yourself, and at least ten to fifteen minutes after the session to process. Take the time that you need to prepare yourself before returning to work or socialising.
These considerations are easily overcome and especially at this time as more and more people are working remotely most people will already be used to communicating this way.
Online Counselling is a fantastic way to access therapy and to allow you the space to explore where it may not have been possible before. Online Counselling is available now UK wide, please get in touch if you feel Online Counselling is right for you.
