The world is changing at a very rapid pace and it’s been a little hard to keep up. I know there are so many thoughts and feelings swirling around with our current world situation, and I plan to address a lot of that as we move forward. For now, I have been making the transition to online counseling. It’s been an interesting journey, because for a long time I have been wanting to add this as an additional service. Sometimes life propels you forward in ways you do not expect. In a matter of a couple of days, I renovated what was a multi-purpose room in our house in my home office, purchased and became acquainted with the appropriate telehealth software, and began reaching out to clients to offer this new service. As I am trying to look for the positives in these stressful circumstances, I am thankful for this abrupt push to get me online.
Benefits to online counseling
There are many benefits to online counseling despite what you might be thinking. In many cases, online counseling can be just as effective as traditional in person sessions.
Benefits include:
- the prevention of illness
- a more flexible schedule
- convenience
- time saved not commuting
- a familiar setting for the client
- the decrease in fear of seeing someone you know at the office
There are some limitations
Limitations to online counseling can include the chance of technology glitches, slow internet, low resolution, and/or dropped calls. Telehealth relies on technology, which allows for greater convenience in service delivery. There are risks in transmitting information over technology that include, but are not limited to, breaches of confidentiality, theft of personal information, and disruption of service due to technical difficulties. The HIPAA compliant software I use (Theranest) greatly reduces these risks.
Encouraged by results
As with anything new, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as clients began using this new form of counseling. First of all, I am so thankful for the number of clients who were willing to give it a try. Thankfully, the majority of my caseload made the transition. With those that transitioned, we have experienced very few technology problems and most clients warm up after the first couple of minutes. There were some very notable therapeutic gains with clients this past week, and that has encouraged me that online counseling can be just as effective as in person sessions.
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