As I’ve commented elsewhere, the pandemic forced a huge shift in how we utilise online services – and the mental health industry is no different.
One of the things that surprised me most about the pandemic was how few of the possibilities offered in the “silver lining” of the huge disruption of those travel and health restrictions flowed through into tangible reforms across many sectors of our society that so desperately need it. For instance, authorities had a prime opportunity to bring the education sector into the Twenty-First Century (and out of the Eighteenth Century) by cutting out the massive amount of pointless duplication we see in ordinary classroom education and shifting repetitive classes and lectures online. Universities have seized on that opportunity to some degree – while still somehow justifying the fees once charged in their more traditional model – because once that delivered knowledge is captured in a good quality recording, it doesn’t need to be repeated unless the information needs an update.
Many service providers have embraced the possibilities of Zoom and other related platforms to reach greater numbers of people, and with more ease for all involved. Online counselling is no different.
I offer a 10-to-15-minute chat for sceptics which can get a taste for just how little difference there is between in-person and online counselling. Even in a dedicated course of intensive psychotherapy, where supported is structured over weeks or months, very little is lost in conducting this training through an online platform.
There are a couple of tiny caveats I’ve already outlined on my website: it’s a good idea to have properly functioning equipment, decent sound and lighting, and a chance to breathe easy for five minutes before the session starts. Other than that, there’s very little tangible difference between working with a therapist online through Zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime than sitting across from them on a sofa.
In essence, therapeutic support for any number of mental health challenges starts with a conversation between two people. An ear for support. Someone who can hear you. Someone who can see you as well – and listen more deeply and with greater insight than anyone else.
A person seeking help from a skilled psychotherapist is literally looking for someone to help the client see themselves because all their own clarity’s been lost amid the mind fog of difficulties. That therapeutic relationship can be just as effective online as in-person. Again, drop me an email to test the water for yourself.
My approach to helping clients isn’t focused on talking things out forever anyway. People looking for relief from the difficulties they experience are looking for exactly that – relief, and hopefully not to engage again and again in the drama of those struggles, and in so doing, become entrenched in a victim-orientated way of life that pretty much guarantees those challenges will continue forever.
That’s another aspect of my approach: not just trying to help clients de-escalate their distress as rapidly as possible, but bringing a no-nonsense acumen to the relationship so that you are in a safe pair of hands focused on your wellness and recovering – being wholly, 100 per cent on your side – and not keeping the wheels turning for years.
To do so, we are talking about a radically honest approach to psychotherapy, not just for me as the practitioner, but for you as the client. This is an active partnership. There are no magic wands, silver bullets or secret tricks here. No one is coming to save you except yourself. And in facing up to that potentially harsh reality, there’s also freedom. That’s the gift of radical, supportive honesty I offer and that I offer you to embrace for yourself.
Do you think any of that is really affected by whether we’re sitting in a consultation room together or online in a virtual space where that human connection remains unchanged?
It should also be noted that the migration to online services fostered through the pandemic has also come at a time where we are really starting to come to grips as a society with the significance of today’s mental health epidemic. There’s a synergy between the pandemic, which supported use of these technologies, and that awareness that many people experience significant distress in their day-to-day lives – a situation also fostered by the stresses of the pandemic, ironically.
In tandem with that societal shift, what we’re also seeing is that the more we facilitate mental health support for people in crisis or suffering significant challenges, the more appetite there is for that approach.
Online therapy from home isn’t just about ease. What we’re seeing is that quite a few people experience such significant distress that it’s socially disabling, and being able to talk with a therapist via the Internet is a potentially life-saving avenue for getting help now. Parallel to this increase in people taking to online counselling, we’re also seeing the rise of text-only therapeutic support for people who find themselves so anxious, depressed or distressed that taking control of their support via texting is the best they are able to manage.
Anyone reading this who feels that way themselves can always text me internationally via WhatsApp on 614 13 733 357 to get the conversation started. Otherwise, click the button for help today.