As the Covid-19 emergency continues to command our collective attention, and we here in Dublin watch the numbers of those infected jump up on a daily basis as more and more restrictions are placed on our lives, the need for and benefit of therapy has also increased. I’ve written elsewhere about online therapy, and it is something that more and more of my clients are requesting.

Becoming more familiar with online therapy

Both existing clients who I have worked with in person and new clients looking to speak with someone during this period of social distancing are attending their therapy sessions online. As we are forced to interact with our friends, colleagues and loved ones on video call as we practice self-isolation, the initial doubts that some people have had about online therapy have disappeared, and in some ways have made it easier for people to get the help that they need as they can dial in from anywhere they have a stable internet connection. This increase in ease of access to and availability of psychotherapy is one small positive to come from this time of crisis.

Talking therapy online

Psychotherapy is a talk based therapy - if two people can talk to each other privately therapy can take place. No longer does someone have to travel to my South Dublin psychotherapy clinic to talk to me in person. Dialling in to an online, virtual consultation room can be done from anywhere - so why haven’t we always done it?

Online therapy vs psychotherapy in person

There are some differences to meeting someone online. The first and most obvious one is that you aren’t sharing the same physical space as the other person. Now this may not seem like such a big thing when dealing a therapist - you aren’t going to miss hugging them like you would your parents or loved ones. But there is something very subtle about being in the same place as another person, be it the sound of their breathing, or even their stomach rumbling if it’s close to linch time. These nearly inaudible cues serve to subliminally reassure us that we are in the presence of another person and that they are listening to what we are saying. This is especially true when clients are on the couch and aren’t sitting face-to-face with their therapist.

Another difference with online therapy is what I call ‘connection anxiety’. I don’t mean connection in the sense of a personal, social connection between therapist and clients (although I do work with a number of clients with social anxiety). Connection anxiety is the fear that some technical glitch will cut you off mid flow just when you are about to hit on something significant. As the pressure on internet infrastructure increases with more people going into lock-down and going online, there is a small chance that some calls may be dropped or the screen may freeze. If IT isn’t your thing then this can be a worry (although something that rarely happens). The very few times my online therapy sessions have been interrupted I’ve been able to continue them on the phone. You might not get to see the person you are speaking to in those instances, but as I said above, as long as two people can talk to each other psychotherapy can happen.

Online therapy and privacy

Finally, there have been many stories in recent years showing that the companies that provide us with many online tools have struggled balancing the privacy of their customers with the interests of shareholders. Privacy and confidentiality is of the upmost importance in psychotherapy, and when people attend my clinic I make sure that their privacy is guaranteed. Likewise, when meeting with clients online I take steps to ensure that the privacy of our sessions is maintained as best as possible. This means using platforms that offer end to end encryption and do not share users data with third-parties.

Easier access to psychotherapy

We are indeed living in strange times, and as the numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths increase across the world it is difficult to imagine that things will return to ‘‘normal’ when the crisis is over. People will still have challenges in their lives that need to be overcome, whether those challenges are anxiety, depression, grief, addiction - the need for therapy will still be felt. But maybe in the new, post-Covid19 world, more people will be able to get the help they need by speaking with a therapist online. Easier access to mental health help? That is something we no longer have to wait for.

If you are interested in speaking with a therapist online, please contact us.