After only working as an in-person therapist, like a lot of people, I had to move to online sessions during the 2020 pandemic. I initially had concerns about the efficacy, or if communicating over video calls would diminish things for both my clients and myself . Thankfully, things have worked just as well, and I have remailed online ever since. This doesn’t just mean both therapist and client get to be in the comfort of their own home, or fit in sessions on their lunch break in the office – it also means I get to see clients from all parts of the world.
We meet either on MS Teams or Whatsapp Video, and just like with in-person sessions, we will work together for a 50 minute session.
Pychotherapy is all about the spoken word and the messages also received through facial expressions, and even the moments of silence.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, sat behind his clients while they lay on a couch, so that the spoken word was the main focus of the session, without distraction. Freud believed that allowing his clients to speak fluidly allowed them to tune in to their unconscious and their emotions more freely. This focus on the verbal is why counselling and psychotherapy are deemed “talk therapies”. So how can we utilise this focus on the spoken work in the technological age?
Below is a succinct article on the topic entitled “Psychotherapy via Skype: a therapist’s experience” by by Francesca A. Bell, published by the Royal College of Psychiatry in 2013. If you are interested in an online session, I would recommend giving it a read. It mirrors my views on the benefits of online therapeutic work with clients and gives me confidence that online therapy (when done correctly and with people who are qualified and conscientious) can be an excellent tool to help people who would otherwise not be in a position to seek help. For example, those in remote locations and/or those housebound with chronic physical illness, agoraphobia, social anxiety and other mental health related obstacles. Agoraphobia is greatly linked to anxiety, with panic disorder in particular leading to agoraphobia in many cases. The potential for help through therapy online for people struggling with these debilitating issues is great.
If a therapy session over video chat seems like something you would be interested in, feel free to get in touch via bebhinnfarrelltherapy@gmail.com