As a counsellor with a practice that is 100% online, I am a huge advocate of online counselling. I enjoy it and believe it is very effective. I also believe that it provides a whole raft of added benefits that regular, in person, counselling does not.
The biggest advantage is that we don’t need to get together to meet. There are several aspects to this.
Increased accessibility
I am available to people who like my style and approach or need my particular skills and experience, even if we live in different cities or countries. This gives people many more options in their mental health care. If you live in a small town you may not have many, if any, options for a counsellor, or you may not have the option of the particular skills I have available. Or perhaps your preferred counsellor is booked out months in advance – you have a much bigger pool of potential helpers when you can look further afield. Or perhaps there is only one counsellor in your town and they are your best friend’s cousin’s mother! Maybe you don’t want to get that personal with your best friend’s cousin’s mother!
Convenience
You don’t need to go anywhere to see me. You can be in your office, car, or home. This means you don’t need to miss a week when you go away for work. It means you don’t need to drive to the office, find parking, or pay for either of those. It means if you can’t leave home because you have a child sick in bed, we can still meet. It even means that if you can’t leave your house because of a disability, we can still meet.
Increased feeling of safety and anonymity
For many people having the screen between us gives an added measure of safety and they might even feel more comfortable opening up. Have you heard of the online disinhibition effect? It explains why some people are much more likely to say and do terrible things on facebook or other online forums that they would never do in person. Usually that is not a great thing. But it can have the opposite effect if it means you are willing to open up, and verbalise things in therapy that you might be too scared or ashamed to say in person.
For others the safety comes from the fact that they can choose a safe place to be while we talk. You might choose your home. Or your car, where you can get right away from everyone. Also, knowing you could pull the plug on your device and be out of the conversation immediately, helps some people feel more in control.
The anonymity part comes from the much decreased possibility that we will run into each other at the local supermarket and have an awkward moment pretending we don’t know each other or misunderstanding the common ‘How are you?” greeting. These are things counsellors commonly discuss with clients at the beginning. We don’t want to ‘out’ you to your friends that you are having counselling, if you don’t want to tell them. This will not likely happen if we live in different cities.
Benefits for me – and for you
There are also benefits for me as the counsellor – that have positive effects for you! I get to visit my grandkids overseas, support family members wherever they are, and travel for work or pleasure, all while continuing to meet my clients every week. This is good for my mental health and wellbeing, which in turn makes me a better counsellor! It’s a win-win!
This online counselling thing sounds like a good deal, right?
