Our current way of life bears more and more pressure on us to the point that, at many times, we may feel that it is beyond our tolerance. For this reason, it is easy to feel that ourselves, our surroundings, and the future are not right; uncertain, at best.
Sometimes in our lives, it’s expected to feel at one time or another we’re far from our best. Fortunately, healthcare experts can accompany you on the journey to empower you to face daily life with the maximum guarantees.
With the advance of technology, access to psychotherapy has dramatically increased: you no longer need to attend a medical center to undergo treatment. You can carry out your therapeutic process from the comfort of your home (or wherever else you choose to do so). This is the basis of online therapy. In this article, we will see what its benefits are.
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Why Online Therapy?
Online psychotherapy is an increasingly established reality in the field of psychological services and mental well-being. This therapeutic intervention format has many advantages, but as for decades, the only option has been the face-to-face visit to the psychologist’s office, there are still people who are unaware of this alternative based on the use of the internet new forms of connectivity.
The actual reasons that drive a said person to mental health services, online or not, can vary greatly, for example, a breakup with a partner, an existential crisis, or a feeling of burnout from work. Even though there is the wrong belief that mental healthcare services are only due when the person is undergoing severe mental trauma, the truth is that everyone can get something positive out of the assistance and accompaniment of mental health professionals. Whether it is to set clear goals in your life, solve a past conflict, or know yourself better.
Psychotherapy provides tools to perceive ourselves readier at the emotional level and instructs us on how to tackle possible situations that might harm our lives. Seeking mental health help is not only a brave action, but it is also a smart choice. Generally speaking, psychological therapy brings these benefits:
- It improves mental health, making you feel better.
- It provides tools to manage daily life situations better, to connect more with ourselves and others on a meaningful level.
- Empowers you to face life
- Helps you to identify and switch unhealthy or limiting beliefs.
The main difference between classical psychological therapy and online psychotherapy is that there is no need for the psychologist and the patient to be in the same room in the latter. Instead of sharing a common space, both use electronic devices to maintain a real-time connection.
In this way, using tablets, PCs, or laptops, both parties transmit verbal and non-verbal information that the other person can see simultaneously as those images and sounds are emitted.
This means that even though the psychologist and patient do not face each other, virtually no information is lost along the way because today’s technological solutions make it possible to capture almost everything that happens in front of the screen.
Advantages of Online Therapy
These are the most important benefits of seeking therapy online, most of which center on mental health democratization. Online therapy allows access to many people, so long as they count with an Internet connection. It can even allow people who previously could not afford it for various reasons to receive psychological assistance and treatment for their psychological problems.
It Gives Us More Time for Other Things
Having a space in the agenda to attend a psychologist does not only mean being busy during the session: you also have to plan for the travel time on the way there and back. Online psychological therapy helps us have more time because there is no need to go to the psychology center or the corresponding office physically.
Another benefit of online psychotherapy is that we have more time available, and the time dedicated to therapy can fit better into our schedules. The reason? In some cases, 24/7 attention is available. Wherever and whenever we have an Internet connection, we can have the session with the psychologist.
Offers More Anonymity
Attending psychotherapy sessions, but as for decades patients linked to the field of clinical psychology and psychiatry have been unfairly stigmatized, there are still those who prefer to keep this fact discreet, regardless of whether it is rational or not to hide from others that you are going to the psychologist.
Attending an appointment in person is something that in itself provides enough anonymity, but in the case of online therapy, it is especially difficult for others to find out that you are going through therapy. Also, secure systems are used to ensure that the information is not digitally filtered.
Improved Ability to Follow up on Treatment
Another advantage of online therapy is that it can be combined with the face-to-face modality if, for example, we work away from the city where we live or if we move cities during therapy. That is, it facilitates the continuity of treatment, which is very important to achieve the objectives and reinforces our commitment to improvement.
There Are no Geographical Limits
The distance between oneself and the psychologist or team of psychologists that we believe best suits us is no longer a problem to worry about. It doesn’t matter if there is a 10-minute walk or an 8-hour drive between us and the professional in online psychotherapy. Therefore, as clients, it expands our possibilities for selecting professionals since we don’t have to limit ourselves to the options within walking distance or other means of reasonable reach.
It Can Help to Save Money
As it does not require transportation, material resources, or a model of receiving patients in the office or the psychology center, online psychotherapy can reduce costs to both the patient and the treatment centers so that teams of professionals can lower prices. The operation and upkeep costs are also much lower for this kind of therapy. This is equally beneficial to both the public and private sectors in terms of expense. This way, it is possible to hire more professionals, facilitating access to mental healthcare even more.
It Offers an Environment of Trust
There are patients for whom the simple fact of expressing their problems and telling personal aspects of their lives is a problem, especially if they feel they are in a place they do not know. Going to a therapist online makes it possible to attend sessions with the psychologist in an environment that is familiar to us: our own home. Even when the patient chooses not to receive therapy in the comfort of their home, they are still free to choose where to connect with the therapist.
It is More Accessible to Functionally Diverse People
Of course, the very nature of online psychotherapy makes it more accessible to people with motor disabilities or to older people who may struggle to move around. It democratizes access to this kind of therapeutic service to people who wouldn’t be able to reach it otherwise.
It Provides Similar Effectiveness as Face-to-Face Therapy
The fact that online psychotherapy is carried out through electronic devices does not affect its effectiveness since most processes are carried out within the same setting as face-to-face therapy (except in certain treatments in which it is necessary to use technologies that are only available in the psychology center).
It Takes the Most Advantage from the Current Technological Resources
In online psychotherapy, both therapist and patient have at hand all the possibilities that the internet and electronic devices can provide: the option of sending images, recordings, links, etc.
Online therapy predisposes patients to make use of certain applications that are very useful on a day-to-day basis to meet treatment objectives and to develop self-monitoring. These programs include sound recordings to perform progressive relaxation techniques, notes with self-instructions, records in which to state and measure our anxiety levels, etc. Some of these tools help us at the moment. While others are a source of information for the team of psychologists monitoring our glass as patients.
Conclusion
Recent research in the psychological field points that written expression is particularly helpful in cases where the patient presents anxiety be it primary or secondary to their ailment, as it is useful to channeling a healthier expression of the self and the environment. As online therapy allows for this kind of therapeutic writing, interventions delivered through this medium usually prove effective in empowering patients to reflect about themselves more deeply and reflectively.
Should you choose to find out more about the online therapy options available to you, it is always a sound idea to prefer professionals with considerable experience and the necessary skills to cover your particular situation.
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We currently only offer online therapy sessions. For reviews of online therapy from previous clients click here
