Is Online Therapy For You? 4 Reasons You Should Consider Tele-Mental Health
You’re searching for a therapist and keep seeing an option for ‘virtual therapy’ or online counseling. You wonder if you’d benefit from this method or if it would be as good as going to a therapist in person. You wonder if you’d be able to really get something from therapy via video.
Telemental health has been shown to be just as effective as traditional in-person therapy. There are many studies that have proven this. And telemental health is not really new, although it has become increasingly popular with the advancement of technology. In fact, the first TeleMental health sessions began in the 1950s! The purpose of telemental health is to improve access to mental health care for those who may not otherwise be able to get the treatment they need and deserve!
There are a lot of reasons people choose telemental health/online therapy. The good thing is, many insurance companies also cover telemental health, making it even easier to get therapy. Here are 4 reasons you should consider online counseling.
You have a hectic schedule - Do you work long hours, super early or super late hours or work multiple jobs? Do you get off work and then head to school or internship, with not much time in between? Do you have to pick up your kids after your long work day and can’t always guarantee childcare? Online counseling can allow you to have earlier or later appointment times, lunch appointments or other appointments that work around your schedule. A lot of therapists who provide telemental health offer appointment slots with the unconventional schedule in mind
Transportation is a hassle - If you live in DC, then you know that driving 3 miles up the road could easily take 45 minutes. To make it to your therapists’ office every week, you’d have to allot about 3 hours of time to get there, have your session, then get back. Maybe you don’t have a car and rely on others to take you places, expensive ubers or inconsistent public transportation (I’m looking at you WMATA!). Online counseling helps to eliminate the barrier of transportation and cuts down the amount of time you’d have to carve out of your schedule to actually get to the therapy office.
You live in a rural or remote area - Live in an area where black therapists’ are sparse? Maybe you want someone who specialize in LGBT issues and the closest one is an hour away. Maybe you just literally live in the middle of nowhere and taking that drive into town every week to see a therapist is both exhausting and unrealistic. Online counseling gives you access to more therapists - think more specialties, more areas of expertise, more therapists that can meet your preferences.
You can’t leave your house - whether you’re on bedrest, you have a medical condition, you’re anxiety levels prevent you from being able to get out the house and whatever other reason that you may be homebound - online counseling allows you to still get the support you need. Don’t let your physical barriers stop you from taking care of your mental health!
Don’t let the above listed things prevent you from seeking therapy. Online counseling can be a convenient and cost-effective way to start (or continue) the journey to your wellbeing, so what are you waiting for?!
All you need to do is:
Make sure you have a quiet, private place for about an hour for the duration of your session
Have a reliable internet connection
Live in the jurisdiction where your future ideal counselor is licensed
Be good with technology
For more information about telemental health, check out our FAQs about online counseling here. You can also check out what researchers have to say about the different telemental health websites/platforms out there by clicking here!
To book a consultation to discuss starting online counseling services with us, click here.