The 5 Psychological Keys That Explain The Effectiveness Of Online Therapy
On the surface, online therapy sessions, carried out through a digital video call platform, seem to be very different from those carried out face to face with the psychologist. The stereotypical image of the patient talking from a couch while the therapist takes notes sitting in a chair a short distance away is practically iconic, and that also means that conversing and interacting from electronic devices can be shocking as an idea of psychological therapy.
However, beyond these superficial differences, reality shows us that Online psychotherapy by video call is perfectly comparable to the “classic model”. On the one hand, scientific research shows us that its degree of effectiveness is the same as when you are in the same room as the psychotherapist, and on the other, in a very short time the number of people who have opted for this remote option you grow a lot. But why this?
The main psychological keys behind the effectiveness of online therapy
Every psychological phenomenon is multi-caused; That is to say, it cannot be explained by looking only at a single fact. The psychotherapeutic process, as a psychological process, is no exception to this, and that means that whether a session goes well or not does not depend solely on one factor to take into account.
That is why the effectiveness of online therapy is not caused by one of its characteristics; here we will see a summary of several aspects of this psychological intervention format that help understand why it works and is effective facing a wide variety of problems. There are probably many more, but these are the ones we consider most important.
1. Sources of stress are reduced by saving on travel
The rush, the physical effort to get to the consultation and the fact of managing travel time well These are aspects that can stress or fatigue us relatively easily. With online therapy, we begin the session without these types of elements that have the potential to wear us down.
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2. It offers the possibility of being in a safe and familiar place
Doing therapy means leaving home or another place that we know well and offers us calm and privacy. In this way there are fewer stimuli or contextual elements that distract us or that may worry some people prone to stress, and in this way it is easier to “immerse” yourself in the therapy process from the first session.
3. The flow of non-verbal communication is not cut off
Verbal communication, based on the non-verbal language of our gestures, grimaces, postures and everything in voice, is very important in the therapeutic process. Ultimately, all the problems to be addressed and overcome with the help of a psychologist are associated with emotions and feelings that are reflected not only in what we say, but also in how we say it.
That’s why, psychotherapy professionals must both know how to capture these subtle signals that are beyond words, how to adapt to those emotional states in real time. The objective is both to help the patient move towards their goals of improvement and self-improvement, and to establish the appropriate psychologist-patient therapeutic bond.
Online psychotherapy by video call is today a format that allows most of the relevant aspects of non-verbal language to be collected, thanks to the rapid transmission of data from Internet services and the good quality of the cameras manufactured today.
4. You gain discretion
Going to the psychologist is very normalized and it is generally assumed that anyone may need, at some point, to resort to psychotherapy services, but there are still those who prefer to exercise discretion in these cases.
In this context, something as simple as not having to manage the fear that others “see us” going to the psychologist’s office makes many people’s attitudes more positive.
5. Most therapeutic tools are still available
Luckily, many therapeutic resources have their version adapted to the online format via video call. This means that The fact that the patient is far from the psychologist’s office is almost never a limitation except in exceptional cases in which the use of very specific three-dimensional materials is required, but in most cases they can be substituted.
Are you interested in having psychological assistance from experts?
If you are thinking about starting a psychotherapy process or are interested in having more information about the different psychological assistance services that exist both online and in person, contact us.
In Advance Psychologists We have been helping people of all ages for more than 20 years, and currently, in addition to psychotherapy by video call or in our center located in Madrid, we offer speech therapy, neuropsychology, psychiatric care, coaching, couples therapy and family therapy services.
