Teletherapy and Video Calls

In some cases, people are not able to meet with a licensed counselor in person. This could be due to distance, a busy schedule, a physical disability, or a mental illness such as depression that makes it challenging to leave home. No matter what the circumstance, it can be disheartening to know you are unable to meet with your preferred counselor in person. Luckily, with the improvements in technology over the past two decades, there are options to meet with a counselor digitally.

Teletherapy is a professional counseling service in which a licensed counselor helps their clients, but instead of meeting in person, they meet digitally. This form of therapy can be done over the phone and instant messaging, but it is usually done over video chat. Teletherapy helps enable clients and their counselors to meet, despite any obstacles that may be present. This can create a new motivation for clients, as their counseling sessions do not make them set aside as much time as in-person counseling. For patients with busy schedules, in-person counseling can get in the way of other daily responsibilities like work, kids, and school. Teletherapy can cut down the time dedicated to the session greatly as there is no commute to the counselor’s office, and you can have your session anywhere that is private.

Choosing teletherapy over in-person techniques has been increasingly popular for many reasons. As mentioned, many mental illnesses make it very difficult for people to make it to in-person appointments. Some patients also have physical disabilities that make getting to a weekly counseling session extremely strenuous. Additionally, if the patient does not have a form of transportation or a driver’s license, finding a way to get to therapy can get stressful. As counselors, we completely understand this, which is why we offer teletherapy. We want it to be as easy as possible for our patients to make it to their appointments so they stay motivated and interested in going to our sessions.

Another way teletherapy is useful in the case of a patient or counselor moving to a new city or state. Having to start over with a new counselor can be a long and even stressful progress. Once you and your counselor have established what you are dealing with and are making significant progress, you don’t want to start over because one of you moved away. Teletherapy can reconnect a counselor to their patient so they do not have to start over with a new counselor.

This form of therapy requires the patient to have a device to do video chat on as well as a secure internet connection. Counselors are able to provide the same treatment as they would in a traditional individual counseling session. If the counselor would like to give their patient a tangible object to help with their condition, it can be mailed or picked up before the session. The world becomes more and more technological each day, so it is only fitting for counseling to do the same.