Online therapy

Whether you would like to have therapy from the comfort of your own home, find it hard to schedule in the time commitment of a face to face therapy appointment, or are an expat looking for an English speaking therapist if you live abroad, online therapy may be the answer. 

Having therapy online has a wide range of advantages over face-to-face therapy. You do not have to factor in travel time or the costs of getting to and from your session, you are able to have therapy from the comfort and privacy of your own home, and you are able to work with the right therapist, not just the closest one.

As an online therapist, I can provide therapy via video or audio/telephone.   

Video therapy

When we meet I will provide the same confidential and uninterrupted 50 minutes that you would expect in a traditional face-to-face therapy session. I am fully IT literate and follow the latest industry guidelines on software and hardware to ensure conversations are always encrypted, private and GDPR compliant.

For video sessions you will need to ensure you have a confidential space where you will be uninterrupted for the duration of your session, a good internet connection, and a device with a camera and microphone. 

Any notes I may make in our sessions will be scanned and sent over to you the same day via email along with any psycho-educational resources we may use.  

Audio/telephone therapy

Some people prefer to work without video, just using audio. Within the UK this can be via telephone, or elsewhere in the world via Zoom or FaceTime, just without the visual element.  This can also be an option where internet connections are unstable at times and you may struggle with video. Here, the same 50-minute session will be us talking and listening to each other.  

As with video therapy, you will need to ensure you have a confidential space where you will be uninterrupted for the duration of your session.  

Again, any notes I may make in our sessions will be scanned and sent over to you the same day via email along with any psycho-educational resources we may use.  

Benefits of online therapy:

• You do not need to factor in time to travel to and from a therapy clinic, you do not need to pay for parking, or travel. Therapy can fit comfortably into a busy lifestyle, or if you live in a remote or rural area. 
• You are able to find the right therapist for you, not just the one who lives nearest. You have the freedom to find the therapist that feels like the right fit, rather than the one you can travel to most easily. 
• Your therapist can travel with you if you move home, if you travel a lot, or are away from home for long periods, you can keep your regular therapy sessions going. 
• Online therapy can usually be more flexible than traditional face to face therapy, if you work shifts, or irregular hours, we can find a way to fit around that without needing to search for when a room is free in a clinic and incurring additional costs. 
• You are able to attend from the comfort of your own home. This not only saves on time but allows you to be comfortable and secure in your surroundings whilst having therapy, and gives you private space to think and reflect after sessions. Clients often report feeling more relaxed in their own surroundings.
• If you sometimes struggle to leave the house, you can still attend your appointments.
• Mobility or accessibility issues are removed as barriers. Many therapy clinics are located in buildings with stairs and in busy towns and cities, if you would find it difficult to travel to and from sessions, this is no longer a concern. 
• Therapy can be as confidential as you want it to be. No one will see you travelling to or from sessions.
• You don’t need to arrange childcare. If you have dependents, you do not need to arrange for someone else to be at home. Provided you are able to find a confidential space to talk, therapy can happen whilst you are also still available should they need you. 

Requirements for online therapy:

• Stable internet connection.
• A confidential space to speak from, headphones may be helpful with this.

With the best will in the world, the strongest WIFI, and a top of the range device, technology can still fail. I work to minimise the risk and effect of this, and have guidelines to follow in the event:

If you are unable to connect or are disconnected during a session due to technological breakdown I will try to reconnect with you. If we cannot reconnect after 10 minutes, I will email you to either schedule a new time or to finish up the session, depending on where in the session the breakdown occurred. 

If we are unable to have a session due to technical failure of my system, I will email you to let you know and offer a rescheduled appointment where possible the same week.