Jay is a hard worker. He’s punctual, dedicated and uncomplaining. He impresses his boss and keeps his family happy. Yet, there’s a part of him that feels like he’s missing out on his own needs. Every spare moment is snapped up by doctors’ appointments or office discussions, and Jay’s starting to feel the strain. He’s getting frustrated and irritable and it’s making him unproductive. He knows he needs to speak to someone experienced and objective but he just can’t find the time.
He addresses it like any other problem–he Googles it. Minutes later, an email confirmation pings in his inbox. A few minor schedule adjustments later, he’s ready to speak to a therapist for an hour every other week. He can do this right from the comfort of his office desk. He could finally unburden his difficulties, and it felt good to finally be heard.
How can online counselling help you?
Just like Jay, there a hundreds of others turning to the internet for psychological support. With your laptop or phone in front of you, therapy is just a few taps and swipes away. The promise of relative anonymity makes it easier to express things people wouldn’t have in person.
The new trend of online mental health counselling carries forward the basic tenets of traditional counselling. A collaborative, objective and nonjudgmental relationship is formed, giving clients a safe space to speak out. In addition, it provides many benefits over the earlier practices. Varied pricing means that counsellors can reach out to and help a wider number of people.
Convenience
Don’t worry about the commute to the clinic or stress out about traffic. Your therapist is directly available at your office or home, at any hour of the day. All this at just the touch of a button.
Access
For some people, getting out of the house is not just an inconvenience, it’s an impossibility. For those with chronic illnesses or disabilities, web or telephone-based counselling may be the only option.
Ethical and Confidential
In-office and online therapists follow a code of ethics set by large psychological organisations and licensing bodies. That means they’ll keep your information as well as your identity safe at all costs.
Relatively Inexpensive
Once you’ve factored out the cost of transport, an online counsellor is already much more affordable. The fees are also relatively lower than those for in-person counselling. Yet, the results are equally effective. The Canadian Medical Association Journal reviewed studies over a period of 12 years. Their results showed supporting evidence that the effectiveness of online counselling is significant.
Online counselling hasn’t just sprouted up out of nowhere, though. Most of its techniques are adaptations of effective traditional face to face therapy approaches. This change indicates that more and more people are moving online to seek help. You can find help for a variety of conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress management, health management, marriage counselling and many more.
Comparatively, the benefits of online counselling are huge. Even across screens, you’ll soon come to view your therapist as a valuable and trusted source of support. All in all, a therapeutic relationship via online therapy can be just as deep, authentic, and emotionally healing as traditional therapy.
