Myths and Truths About Online Psychology

It is very possible that we have heard that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic Online psychological consultations have increased more than 200%. This has led many people to consider, with the advance of the pandemic, whether it is logical to opt for online therapy or return to in-person therapy, and this leads us to ask ourselves: Is online therapy as effective and beneficial as in-person therapy?

To answer this question, we must first note that More and more frequently it is common to ask for psychological help (in person or online), and it is just as important as attending physical therapy sessions or medical appointments. Therefore, it is very logical that we ask ourselves more questions about psychological therapy and, specifically, about one of its modalities that is already common today, online therapy.

To this day there is still a lot of skepticism and many doubts regarding the possibility of going to psychological therapy, because this type of help can still be seen as something strange or distant, of which many people doubt its usefulness and effectiveness; even more so if we talk about online therapy, which some distrust.

Knowing online therapy and what it entails

We are going to help you break myths and we are also going to propose what advantages we can find in online psychology, even compared to in-person therapy. Knowing them will encourage you to seek psychological help through this modality, leaving aside any doubts or reservations you may encounter when opting for this type of therapy.

1. Absence of travel

To be able to carry out our session from our own home, or even sometimes from other places where we can feel comfortable, such as in a private room in the work environment, is one of the great advantages of online therapy. It even offers us the possibility of not having to stop coming because of a trip or vacation.

Not investing time in traveling to the consultation, without a doubt allows you to make time for other daily needs. Many people do not have enough time to attend in-person therapy, due to their jobs or caring for children or other family members.

But in addition to the lack of time, we must also talk about those who find it difficult to get around due to transportation issues. We are talking about people who live far from the nearest psychologist, who do not have good communication channels or who have some type of physical mobility difficulty. That is why the online modality will be a great incentive for these people.

2. Time flexibility

Flexibility in the schedule is undoubtedly another advantage that we can find in online psychology, since We can establish our consultation schedule in agreement with the therapist in a more flexible way by avoiding travel.

In this way, we will save time and be able to achieve not only the improvements we seek in our psychological well-being, but we will also be able to choose the moment that best suits our needs. This is very important, since we can better integrate therapy into our lives.

It should be noted that in online therapy, there is greater flexibility and ease of making appointments of therapy between the therapist and the patient, also because the professional himself can work more flexibly. This is a great advantage and benefit when choosing the online modality.

3. Confidentiality

One of the most common questions when people consider using online therapy is whether privacy is assured or if our therapy can be exposed to the knowledge of other people.

Without a doubt, online therapy, like in-person therapy, provides full confidentiality if the professional in charge of carrying it out respects all established professional standards and codes, this being a topic with which there is high sensitivity on the part of psychology professionals. Therefore, it is good to always ask the professional about this point, and we must keep in mind that we will gain greater security in this regard if we are holding the sessions through encrypted psychology platforms, such as TherapyChat, over services such as Zoom or Skype.

It is not a secret that, sometimes, one of the doubts that people raise when receiving psychological help is confidentiality and, sometimes, doubt about this privacy can lead to giving up receiving this help.

This is why we must evaluate in detail the option of receiving online therapy if this matter particularly bothers us, since if the professional complies with all the necessary measures, we can also guarantee that no one will see us entering a physical psychology consultation, and we will not have We have to worry about the “paper walls” effect.

4. Closeness and warmth

At the same time, we find ourselves with the doubt of whether carrying out the therapy online will mean a barrier in terms of proximity to the psychologist or if there will be a certain coldness in the therapeutic relationship.

In response to this, online therapy does not pose a problem in this area, since interaction via video call implies the same level of communication between people that we can find in an in-person psychological consultation. And we can be sure that psychology professionals are experts in managing communication.

In this way, the difference will be found in that instead of having a table between patient and therapist, we will find a screen, so in no case would there be a difficulty in terms of closeness and warmth with the professional.

5. Immediacy in emergencies

Another point in favor of this type of therapy is that in the event of an emergency or some type of unexpected difficulty, the patient You will have no problem communicating the problem to your therapist. thus achieving relief or resolution of these problems in the quickest, most effective and most accurate way possible.

In this sense, there may be more immediate contact, being able to correct the difficulties that arise in the shortest possible time, managing to preserve anonymity and with total closeness between the patient and their therapist.

For this, the good adaptation of new technologies to online therapy It will undoubtedly be an advantage that we will find in this type of therapy compared to face-to-face therapy, where this type of help will not normally be as immediate as with online therapy, as it is not in such a flexible context.

6. Proven effectiveness

Possibly, the biggest question when undergoing online therapy is whether the effectiveness of this type of therapy is similar or less than in-person therapy. This questioning is to be expected in the face of a type of therapy that has a much shorter time span than in-person therapy. Nevertheless, The current results show that there is no difference in effectiveness in the treatment of one type of therapy and another.

In fact, since the 60s of the last century, Telepsychology has been subject to research, and the same effectiveness of online treatments as face-to-face has been proven, and even higher levels of maintenance of these have been recorded. improvements over time, as David Mohr (PhD in Clinical Psychology and director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who has dedicated his career to research in this area) assures.

In the end, the main factor in terms of effectiveness is found in the professional work of the therapist and the commitment of the patient. That is why if we find a suitable professional, with a high level of commitment on our part, we can only predict that online therapy will have a great prognosis of success.

In this way, all the doubts related to this area when opting for online therapy should in no case be a barrier nor should they mean a renunciation of receiving the help necessary for every person at a complex moment in their life.

Concluding…

After highlighting all these advantages within online therapy, we conclude that Knowing more about mental health and its benefits will help us be aware of how our mental health is. at the same time it can help us make the decision to receive this type of help, the online modality being an option that in many cases will make great sense.

In addition, inform yourself and learn more about mental health and the possibility of receiving online therapy, It will help us to help close people who may require psychological attention and who, perhaps due to their own circumstances or difficulties, do not know or need guidance to resort to this type of help.

In this way, if there is any doubt that may arise when carrying out online therapy, we must keep in mind that despite the doubts, there are many points in favor of making the decision, such as the absence of travel, flexible hours, confidentiality, closeness and warmth, immediacy in emergencies and proven effectiveness.

Thus, given the need to improve our mental health at a complicated time in our lives, where for various reasons it may be difficult for us to attend an in-person consultation, online therapy will be a very helpful tool both for us and for those around us. And don’t doubt it, going to therapy, in any way, is better than not going to any therapy at all.