Before COVID-19 Face-to-face was the in thing! We were all told that if you speak on the phone or have a session that is online, the result would not be the same; the client would not share enough to find resolve for their dilemma. We were told that the counselling session would not be professional enough and the result would not be valuable.
Thanks to COVID-19 we have now proven that there are many and varied positives to providing and engaging in online counselling.
No need to book a session that provides enough time to go to the office, find a park, do the session, then get back to pick up kids or get back to work. You can very often do the session from the comfort of your home.
When you are in your own space, you could feel more comfortable to speak about difficult topics, or have a cuppa while you discuss and explore your dilemma.
Some clients are struggling to attend physical session because of social anxiety and may need time to explore options to widen their comfort zone. A client with these kind of anxieties, may even decline help if it meant coming out and stepping into an environment is unfamiliar.
Depression can also prevent a client from asking for help is they need to do more than picking up a phone or having a zoom or teams meeting.
The cost of sessions can also be a deterrent for clients to get a taxi to get to and from the session on top of paying the counsellor.
BUT why offer face to face if online is so great?
Some clients who have started with a phone session, then moved towards a video session and later came to a face to face session, in the practice have reported to me that they felt safe to come to the session in the office only after they have discussed all the difficult topics and then could work towards their social freedom and confidence.
Similarly, for the person with depression, the ‘getting out of the house’ energy needs to be cultivated sometimes, before they feel strong enough to come into the counselling room.
What about the person who wants to do face to face because there is a feeling that ‘the walls have ears’ at home. Some clients feel more unsafe to speak at home and need a space where they can freely confide in someone about their challenges in life. For example, when there might be a relationship with a tendency of family violence or if the client might have a personality challenge they need to work on. These situations are so personal that a client often need to be certain that they can be safe when they explore solutions to their dilemmas.
Sometimes a client has children and need to organise a carer to be able to have the privacy to explore growth options.
Then there are the group sessions: F2F or online?
Again, the options need to be weighed up for each group of people with their connecting issue of for example recovery after family violence or creative therapies or mindfulness. Sometimes one can facilitate the group comfortably online and other times it is better in person.
I hope this give you a bit of an idea about what you may need when starting your sessions.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
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