Telehealth & Online Therapy Services

Online counselling or therapy works by providing mental health support through digital platforms, rather than in-person. This is also called ‘telehealth therapy’. Video conferencing is the most popular form of online therapy, which is delivered using platforms such as Zoom or Coviu.

If you attend online therapy at Peaceful Mind Psychology, your psychologist will send you a link to join an online platform prior to your session. As your session time approaches, you find a private and comfortable place where you’ll be able to talk freely, and once the time of your session comes around, you click the link and join your psychologist in a video call.

The terms “online therapy” and “online counselling” are often used interchangeably, but there are subtle distinctions between them.

Online therapy includes therapeutic modalities or treatments that have been designed to address specific mental health concerns and have been rigorously researched and tested to prove their effectiveness. These might include popular treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and many others. Online therapy is also used to treat a wide range of mental health conditions, such as Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Eating Disorders, or Obsessive and Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Online therapy is usually conducted by registered psychologists, psychiatrists, or mental health social workers who are all extensively trained to deliver therapy and work with complex mental health issues.

On the other hand, online counselling tends to focus on providing more general guidance and support, for non-clinical issues such as stress, relationship issues, or life transitions. Online counselling can be provided by counsellors, therapists, or even life coaches. It can often be shorter-term and solution focused.

Online therapy and in-person therapy differ in the way in which the therapy is delivered, but the core principles of the therapeutic work remain the same. Importantly, research has found that overall, there is no difference in effectiveness between online and in-person therapy in treating mental health concerns.

The main difference is the accessibility and convenience of the different settings.  Online therapy offers greater flexibility, allowing you to access therapy from anywhere with an internet connection, such as the comfort of your own home. This can be particularly beneficial for people with busy schedules, mobility issues, those who are travelling, those who live in rural areas, or those who have mental health conditions that make it hard for them to leave their home. In-person therapy requires attending sessions at a specific location, which involves travel times and other logistics.

It really depends on the individual. Some people may have difficulty forming a relationship with their psychologist through a screen. Non-verbal cues can be harder to pick up on, and technical issues might occasionally disrupt communication (though there are ways to work around this). Maintaining privacy can also sometimes be challenging if you’re in a shared space, which can impact how open you can be with your psychologist.

However, other people find that speaking via a computer screen actually makes them feel more comfortable. Or they simply feel more relaxed in their own space, which helps them engage in therapy more readily.

Other people find no difference between the two and find it useful to be able to switch between in-person and online as needed. For example, some people may opt for an online session if they are feeling unwell but are well enough to go ahead with an online session. Some people like to start with in-person sessions to build up their connection with their psychologist and then later move to online sessions for convenience.

If you’re not sure, try to imagine talking about what you want to discuss if the person is sitting in front of you, versus on a screen. Do you feel more comfortable imagining one scenario over the other? If in doubt, perhaps try to see a psychologist who can provide treatment in both formats.

Finding a good online psychologist is very similar to finding a good in-person psychologist. We have a really thorough article dedicated to how to find a good psychologist that you can read here.

In short though, you want to keep in mind the following points:

• Their individual qualities:
  • Your online psychologist needs to make you feel heard, understood, and cared for.
  • They also need to have appropriate training (see below).
• Your preferences:
  • You might have a certain style or personality that you’d feel more comfortable with (e.g. softer and gentle, vs. structured and direct).
  • Or you might prefer a psychologist of a particular gender, age or life experience.
• Their experience:
  • Not all psychologists have the same interests, training and experience. You want to find someone who has worked in the past with people who have experienced similar difficulties to yourself (e.g. anxiety, mood difficulties, body image etc.).
  • You also want to confirm you are seeing a psychologist. Many online counselling businesses have started up in the past few years, but the term “psychologist” (including “clinical psychologist”, “counselling psychologist” etc.) is legally protected. This means that to claim they are a psychologist, a person must have completed certain standards of training. While not a perfect system, this does guarantee that you are seeing someone with a minimum of 6 years of university-level training.

You can ask about all of these points when speaking to a practice’s reception team. At Peaceful Mind Psychology we take matching our clients to the right psychologist very seriously, and will take the time to ensure you are matched with not just someone who is experienced, but also a good fit for you personally.

There are a few factors to consider:

• Internet connection: Do you have access to a stable and high-speed internet connection? This can be via phone, tablet or laptop.
• Privacy and distractions: Do you have a private and quiet place free from distractions where you can go for sessions? Therapy requires a confidential space (even if you don’t think you’re going to talk about someone you live with, having them able to overhear your conversation can still affect how open you feel you can be). Would it bother you to discuss the issues you want to talk about if someone else is in the house, even if they’re in a different room? If so, in-person might be better.
• Physical presence: Does being in the same room help you connect to others? Would you find it easier to be open if you were both seated in the same room? Or might it be easier to connect if there’s a bit of distance?
• Wait times: Depending on what you’re seeking support for, you might be able to get in to see someone online sooner than you can get an in-person appointment. This shouldn’t be the only reason you go with an online appointment, but all other things being equal, this might be something to consider.