Is Teletherapy Right For You?

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit our nation, the healthcare industry pivoted to virtual services to protect healthcare workers and patients. Now, telehealth is here to stay, with the benefits it provides and the challenges that come with it.

In March 2020, the world stood still. Businesses shut down and workers were sent home for what was anticipated to be two weeks. Two weeks turned into a month, a month turned into years. Those of us who were fortunate enough to to maintain employment during the pandemic adjusted to working from home, including healthcare workers. 

The world opened back up recently. Many companies across various industries are fully back to in-person, but a lot of employers switched to a hybrid model that allows employees to WFH a few days a week, and some have remained completely virtual.

The healthcare industry began offering telehealth to continue providing services to their clients during the pandemic, and mental health professionals followed suit by offering teletherapy. Nowadays, a lot of mental health providers are continuing to offer teletherapy, including myself.

While I personally find working from home to be challenging, I recognize the high need for virtual services still remains. There are so many benefits that teletherapy offers that must also be weighed against the challenges to see if teletherapy is right for you.

Benefits of Teletherapy:

• Increased availability for appointments

  • You can schedule your appointments during lunch breaks or other breaks during business hours. 

  • WFH means no commute, so you could schedule appointments right before or immediately after regular business hours.

• Increased convenience 

  • You can use your computer or your phone, meaning you can access teletherapy wherever you are (Note: this may present some challenges, see below).

  • Imagine the time saved commuting back-and-forth to the therapist’s office!

  • No more awkwardly sitting in waiting rooms trying to avoid eye contact with other clients - simply log into the teletherapy site when you are ready for your appointment.

  • No more worrying about delayed public transportation, traffic jams, or lack of parking causing you to be late for appointments. 

  • Have kids? Parents or caregivers might be able to save money on childcare if they’re able to stay home with their kids (Note: this also might cause some challenges, see below). 

• Improved comfort

  • You can stay at home, which has helped some of my clients feel more comfortable opening up with their emotions during sessions. 

  • You do not have to plan for severe weather or travel during rough weather conditions - stay home and stay safe!

  • You might feel more comfortable with your pets, supportive family members, or other sources of comfort (like a favorite blanket) easily accessible at home

• Improved accessibility

  • Teletherapy helps you save money that might have been spent on gas, parking, or public transportation.   

  • You can see a therapist who is licensed in the state you live in, even if they live hours away in a different city! This gives you so many more options to find the right fit for you.

  • If you have a chronic health condition, mobility limitations, or certain disabilities, you can access services more easily without worrying about whether or not the therapist’s office will have appropriate accommodations for your needs.

  • You may feel uncomfortable or unsafe leaving your home, for one reason or another. Teletherapy provides an opportunity for you to still receive services while remaining safe at home. 

Challenges of Teletherapy:

• Limits to confidentiality and privacy

  • I use a HIPAA-compliant platform for teletherapy, but there’s always a (small) chance some hacker might decide to crack into our system.

  • There’s a chance someone else might hear what we’re talking about - your roommate in a small apartment, your child who hears you on the other floor through an air vent, a neighbor walking by your open bedroom door, a coworker listening to see if the conference room is being used, etc. 

• Uncontrollable environment 

  • Part of my office that I loved was being able to control the therapeutic environment with candles, essential oil diffusers, music in the waiting room, comfortable pillows and blankets, or calming artwork on the walls. There might be construction happening outside your window, your home might feel chaotic - there’s no way for me to manage these distractions or control the vibe of your environment.

  • Screens can be distracting - you might have notifications pop up while we’re on screen together, and it can be hard to ignore these notifications during a video call.

• Possible interruptions

  • You might experience interruptions during a teletherapy session, such as your children asking for permission to watch another episode of TV while you finish your session, a mailman ringing the doorbell persistently with a package that requires a signature, or a pet begging you to open the door so they can cuddle with you.

• Internet connection interruptions

  • A poor internet connection is always annoying, but it is incredibly inconvenient if it happens while you are sharing a deeply emotional experience. 

• Teletherapy is not on-the-go

  • I cannot conduct a teletherapy session with a client who is mobile - such as being on a walk or driving - due to the liability that comes with those situations. This might feel limiting to clients who want to have sessions during their commute, but there are just too many risks (you might be a good driver, but I don’t know or trust the drivers around you!). 

• Personal preferences or clinical needs

  • Some clients just do better in-person. Admittedly, I miss being able to sense a client’s energy, feel the vibration of their emotions, and physically hold space for them in-person. For some clients, this might be essential to their therapeutic progress. 

  • Some clients might not be appropriate for teletherapy based on their condition. For example, or a client who struggles with excessive cannabis use might be tempted to smoke before a teletherapy session because their therapist won’t be able to smell the cannabis through the screen (we can still tell btw but you get the point). 

• Lack of separation

  • You might have a teletherapy session in the same place where you work, which can make the appointment feel like a work call instead of a therapy session. Where you have the teletherapy session matters because there might be some pre-existing associations with the environment. 

There are quite a few benefits and challenges associated with teletherapy. As of August 2022, I am solely offering teletherapy to my clients because of the benefits it provides. I discuss all of the possible challenges with my clients when we begin working together, and I would suggest that you do the same with your therapist. Teletherapy may not be right for everyone, but it can be a convenient, accessible way for people to gain access to mental health services.

Interested in starting teletherapy? Click here to get started!