With online working being a familiar discussion topic since the Coronavirus lockdown began, and more recently discussions about returning to normal working, it might seem that online working has been a novel response to the pandemic. This may be true for many types of work and activity but online therapy has been around for a long time. It is neither new nor temporary.
It has been said that in online therapy there are certain core elements that are missed or lost. These include:
- Physical presence, being in a shared space,
- The silences and conversations between two individuals physically present with each other that contribute to ‘feeling felt’.
Yet there is an intimacy that can emerge in online therapy, there is an openness in the communication that is sometimes lacking in face-to-face work. There can be a warmness in the relationship that compensates for a lack of physical presence. These can all make online therapy a good choice for working through your difficulties or concerns.
There are additional elements, too, which are as equally available in online therapy as they are in face-to-face therapy. Factors such as trust, feeling heard and understood, and a human connection with someone who cares. These are all available in online therapy, and form part of the blend of training and experience that an online therapist brings to their particular approach to the process of therapy.
My particular blend of therapy is underpinned by transactional analysis psychotherapy which looks at how we become who we are, and how we grow and change during the course of life. Also relational psychotherapy, which believes in the centrality of the therapeutic relationship as the significant agent for change and successful therapy.
There are many reasons to choose online therapy. Coronavirus lockdown is just one. Another might be familiarity with maintaining relationships via social media online. Or there might be personal circumstances such as illnesses, mobility, care arrangements or other accessibility reasons.
The key thing to bear in mind, whatever your particular reason, is that you are not losing or missing some important and core element if you decide that online therapy is a good choice for you. In the 21st century online therapy is as valid a choice to make as its face-to-face counterpart.