Is e-Counseling for you?

Several years ago, when I first heard about e-Counseling (aka- telemedicine, telemental health, virtual therapy etc.) I have to admit I was sort of surprised and confused.  I had a lot of different thoughts stream through my mind, most of which were not positive.  I thought it sounded weird and didn’t really want to do it, but it was part of my job- so I had no choice but to give it a try.

What I very quickly began to realize was that it wasn’t really weird at all. I discovered that in many cases, everything I could do in a face to face session, I could do in an online one.  The majority of my counseling style, particularly with adults is some format of talk therapy.  So why couldn’t I do that on a video conference.  Of course there are exceptions, I don’t typically start out counseling this way or do this type of counseling with children because I often involve therapeutic play in the process.  There are also situations such as when I am working with someone using Expressive Arts Therapy that I would likely not recommend this type of intervention.  However, the exceptions are few and overall many people that I work with can benefit from receiving part or all of their counseling in an online format.  The most important details are personal preference and comfort in using the technology.

So why might someone engage in online counseling?  Let’s ask a few questions:

• Do you have trouble with consistent or reliable transportation?
• Do you have a busy schedule with work or school that makes it difficult to get away to attend appointments on a regular basis?
• Do you travel for work?
• Do you have trouble finding or affording childcare so you can come to counseling?
• Do you find that you have to frequently cancel appointments because you have to care for a sick child or loved one?
• Are you a college student who lives in the area for part of the year and then leaves for college the rest?
• Do you get tired of having to cancel appointments because of bad weather?
• Do you have a work schedule that only allows you to be available at times that most therapists aren’t available?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then e-Counseling could be helpful for you.  Let’s go through a few more questions that could help you decide…

• Do you have a computer, tablet or phone with the audio-visual capacity to do video conferencing?
• Do you have a private place you could go with internet connection that supports video streaming?
• Are you comfortable with email and other technology based communication?
• Are you comfortable communicating with friends, family or colleagues via skype, face-time or other videoconferencing software?
• Do you feel satisfied with the quality of interaction with others using this technology?
• Do you feel comfortable with sharing private information over HIPAA compliant video conferencing software?
• Are you willing to provide the address to your physical location at the time of any online session?

If you answered yes to the questions in this section, then e-Counseling could be a good fit for occasional or regular use as part of your counseling journey.   If you would like to learn more about your options, just let me know and we can talk about how we might use e-Counseling to reach your therapy goals!