Online Counseling Tips for Clients and Therapists

Telehealth is a huge shift for most of us—clients and therapists alike. Here are som tips for you as a client during telehealth sessions:

• change your mindset: online therapy can be equally as helpful as in person sessions. It’s new, and might feel uncomfortable at first, but this doesn’t mean it won’t be useful to you.

• be as close to your internet router as possible to prevent connectivity issues

• find a private space with a closed door

• create a physical environment that feels safe and comfortable

• boundaries--share visually only what you want to share of your home, this can be a little or a lot. You might want your therapist to see your whole living room and meet your dog, or you might want to sit down in a nondescript corner to keep the boundaries more clear and separated. Up to you!

• close other open windows on your computer and put your phone away & on silent to minimize distraction

• put a post-it note over your face if it's distracting to see yourself

• talk with your therapist about what happens if you get disconnected

• know that it might feel different than in person, and that's okay

• get comfortable with silences, they are just like in office; you don't have to always fill space.

• bring up discomfort with the change, process with your therapist how it's impacting your experience

The tips for therapists are really similar, below are the ones that are additional or different:

• change your mindset: online therapy can be equally as helpful. Almost any therapy modality can be adapted to online sessions (I’m speaking from experience here—I’m a somatic therapist and online work for this can be challenging when I can’t see my client’s entire body, can’t feel their breath as I can in office, etc; but I have been able to find ways to adapt it to online. Anything is possible if we get creative).

• find a private space with a closed door, add a sound machine if you can, especially if you're at home

• create a physical environment that feels similar to your office. This can help with getting you into your procedural learning for “therapy session” and get into “therapist mode”. Honestly, I can’t do this if I’m in my PJs or sweatpants. I dress like I’m going to work (which is actually pretty casual), so that I feel as similar to in-person sessions as possible.

• boundaries--share visually only what you want to share of your home. It can be uncomfortable to bring our clients into our homes, even if virtually, because we work hard to “not bring the work home” with us. Figure out a way to set these physical or energetic boundaries with virtual sessions.

• call your clients' insurance to double check coverage. Most carriers have the same coverage for telehealth as in-person sessions, but some process the claims differently. Check with your clients’ carriers so that you can be clear with them about potential cost and coverage changes.

• make sure your clients know what happens if you get disconnected. My rule of thumb is to call them on their cell phone, troubleshoot video issues, and if we can’t resolve them we finish the session by phone. Talk with your clients about what they would prefer if you get disconnected.

• tell your client about what might feel different about online sessions, check in with them about all of the above. If you’re new to doing online sessions, be transparent about the fact that you’re adjusting to this new thing together.

• be ready to process attachment and relationship changes that might come up in session. Clients might feel less connected to you, less seen by you, or on the other side, they might feel TOO see by being on video, or might feel their space being intruded upon. Be mindful of this, name it if it comes up, and be ready to process it.

• give yourself longer breaks between sessions to move your body and to look away from a screen. Please take care of yourself! I’m finding that doing online sessions is more exhausting and my eyes get really tired. Time away from my screen and moving my body, along with longer breaks between sessions and less clients per day (when possible) has been really helpful.

I’d love to hear from you—either as a client or a therapist—how are you adjusting to online sessions? How is it feeling? What did I miss?

Interested in teletherapy during the pandemic? We are taking on new clients! Head to our contact page to reach out, let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll fit you with one of our fantastic therapists.