About Talking Therapies
What are Talking Therapies
Talking therapies have been shown in research to be useful for lots of people in lots of situations and conditions such as anxiety or depression. It is sometimes called talking treatments, counselling, psychological treatments or psychotherapy.
Talking therapy is for anyone who's going through a difficult time or has emotional problems they need help with.
It can also be useful for people who are not currently under distress but feel stressed or isolated and find they do not have anyone to talk to.
For many adults it may be more effective than medication for a wide variety of issues.
What is Online Therapy?
Online psychotherapy and counselling can be called many things; e-therapy, telehealth, video chat therapy, online therapy, etc.
It can be delivered by many different methods including online chat and email and video/audio conversations.
When I refer to online therapy, I mean a talking therapy delivered over the internet using face to face video communication (webcam or mobile).
Why do people choose to do Online Therapy?
The reasons that people decide to work online can (mostly) be divided into two categories; circumstance or choice.
Circumstance might include:
Does Online Therapy Work?
If you have decided you might like to give online therapy a go, you might be wondering if it works at all.
In my experience, the short answer is yes.
Clients have told me that it feels like the technology disappears after a few minutes and it's then like we're in the same room.
Clients can have all the benefits of therapy from the location of their choice.
There is also a body of evidence for online therapy as being effective in academic literature.
In the UK the NHS is using this type of technology more and more to provide services to clients online, for the same reasons as people use it privately.
Who is Online Therapy suitable for?
In general, online therapy is very effective for most people.
However, there are some circumstances that can cause people difficulties:
What Types of therapy do I offer?
In addition to online psychotherapy and integrative counselling using talking therapy, some schools of therapeutic thought that I offer also include:
Psychodynamic Theory
This therapy school is based on the idea that what we have experienced in our pasts informs how we experience the present. So, if something bad or stressful happened to someone in their past, it is possible that things today they feel are similar (even if they do not consciously know it) and might be causing them to feel certain emotions and hence behave in certain ways.
Exploring client’s pasts often leads to insights about their present, how they got there and why they are feeling or acting the way they are now.
Cognitive Behavioural Theory
This school of thought says that thoughts and behaviours can have effects on people’s moods. So if you are thinking thoughts like “I am going to mess up that interview” you may feel more anxious about going. This is one of the more evidenced-based therapies and often involves us designing and setting up “mini-experiments” to see what would happen to your mood if you did something differently or thought a different way about things.
In this way, we might find ways you can better manage your feelings, changing your mood and experience of life.
Person Centred Theory
This is the idea that each person has it within themselves to change whatever needs changing to grow, develop and feel better. This self-created growth is facilitated by a deep relationship with someone, often a talking therapist. Once the client feels they are being fully understood, they often make moves towards being and feeling better, knowing that whatever they do, they will be supported.
One of the most resilient findings in academic therapy research is that the quality of the relationship between client and therapist accounts for a lot of the therapeutic change that happens throughout the session; people who feel more connected to their therapists do better than those who do not. For this reason, I try very hard to embody the kind of empathetic relationship required by person-centred theory with my clients. This offers them the best chance possible of progressing, whatever other ideas we may use in sessions.
I hope this has helped in explaining more about online counselling to you.
Please feel free to explore the rest of the site and if you would like more information then do contact me, or go ahead and book a session.
Talking therapies have been shown in research to be useful for lots of people in lots of situations and conditions such as anxiety or depression. It is sometimes called talking treatments, counselling, psychological treatments or psychotherapy.
Talking therapy is for anyone who's going through a difficult time or has emotional problems they need help with.
It can also be useful for people who are not currently under distress but feel stressed or isolated and find they do not have anyone to talk to.
For many adults it may be more effective than medication for a wide variety of issues.
What is Online Therapy?
Online psychotherapy and counselling can be called many things; e-therapy, telehealth, video chat therapy, online therapy, etc.
It can be delivered by many different methods including online chat and email and video/audio conversations.
When I refer to online therapy, I mean a talking therapy delivered over the internet using face to face video communication (webcam or mobile).
Why do people choose to do Online Therapy?
The reasons that people decide to work online can (mostly) be divided into two categories; circumstance or choice.
Circumstance might include:
- You don’t live close to the therapist you want to work with. You’re unable to leave your home for whatever reason; young child, agoraphobia, disability, etc.
- You travel a lot with work so cannot always make sessions in your hometown.
- The therapist you want to work with has no availability for in person therapy.
- You live in a country that does not have access to English speaking therapists or there are no therapists in your country at all.
- Your schedule varies so much that pinning down times is easier with more flexibility.
- You work anti-social hours, when you are awake, therapists near you are asleep.
- You do not want to or cannot spend time travelling to and from therapy.
- You feel you want to be more anonymous. Compared to in person therapy there is no waiting area so no arising questions about where you are or who you are with, etc.
- You want the flexibility of appointment times rather than being restricted to physical office opening hours.
- You prefer the physical distance between you and your therapist which might help you talk more easily.
- You need or want to keep costs down. Online therapy is often more cost effective as the fee is lower and there are no travel costs.
- You find communication online to be easier than communication in person.
Does Online Therapy Work?
If you have decided you might like to give online therapy a go, you might be wondering if it works at all.
In my experience, the short answer is yes.
Clients have told me that it feels like the technology disappears after a few minutes and it's then like we're in the same room.
Clients can have all the benefits of therapy from the location of their choice.
There is also a body of evidence for online therapy as being effective in academic literature.
In the UK the NHS is using this type of technology more and more to provide services to clients online, for the same reasons as people use it privately.
Who is Online Therapy suitable for?
In general, online therapy is very effective for most people.
However, there are some circumstances that can cause people difficulties:
- Clients who do not have a space that works for therapy. (Quiet, no interruptions, private, etc.)
- People with limited WiFi or mobile data plans.
- If you want to talk freely and openly about things going on in your relationships, if someone else is nearby it may hinder the process.
- Your internet or mobile connection isn’t stable. It can be really difficult to have to repeat yourself during some parts of therapy if all your therapist saw (and heard) was a pixelated version of you.
What Types of therapy do I offer?
In addition to online psychotherapy and integrative counselling using talking therapy, some schools of therapeutic thought that I offer also include:
Psychodynamic Theory
This therapy school is based on the idea that what we have experienced in our pasts informs how we experience the present. So, if something bad or stressful happened to someone in their past, it is possible that things today they feel are similar (even if they do not consciously know it) and might be causing them to feel certain emotions and hence behave in certain ways.
Exploring client’s pasts often leads to insights about their present, how they got there and why they are feeling or acting the way they are now.
Cognitive Behavioural Theory
This school of thought says that thoughts and behaviours can have effects on people’s moods. So if you are thinking thoughts like “I am going to mess up that interview” you may feel more anxious about going. This is one of the more evidenced-based therapies and often involves us designing and setting up “mini-experiments” to see what would happen to your mood if you did something differently or thought a different way about things.
In this way, we might find ways you can better manage your feelings, changing your mood and experience of life.
Person Centred Theory
This is the idea that each person has it within themselves to change whatever needs changing to grow, develop and feel better. This self-created growth is facilitated by a deep relationship with someone, often a talking therapist. Once the client feels they are being fully understood, they often make moves towards being and feeling better, knowing that whatever they do, they will be supported.
One of the most resilient findings in academic therapy research is that the quality of the relationship between client and therapist accounts for a lot of the therapeutic change that happens throughout the session; people who feel more connected to their therapists do better than those who do not. For this reason, I try very hard to embody the kind of empathetic relationship required by person-centred theory with my clients. This offers them the best chance possible of progressing, whatever other ideas we may use in sessions.
I hope this has helped in explaining more about online counselling to you.
Please feel free to explore the rest of the site and if you would like more information then do contact me, or go ahead and book a session.
