what is
online
counselling
Improve your mental health & wellbeing
Intro
Online counselling gives you the opportunity to access counselling support at a time and in a place which is convenient to you.
Online Counselling refers to therapy conducted via the internet or telephone. You may prefer to use video conferencing so that we can see each other as we speak, or you may prefer to use just audio. We encourage you to try video conferencing and will support you in the transition by answering any questions and making it as easy a process as possible.
Benefits & Challenges
Some things you may enjoy about therapy online/via telephone are:
- You can create a comfortable and private space in your own home from which to attend therapy.
- You may find it easier to talk, focus and express yourself.
- You may enjoy wearing comfortable clothes, bringing a cup of tea and avoiding a commute after a therapy session.
- We may be able to be more flexible about scheduling.
- Research shows that online/telephone therapy is as effective as in-person therapy.
Some of the challenges we may face could be to do with internet connection. We share some instructions below to help get you set up.
Another challenge could be that we do not see the whole of each other. We will explain how we can set up our devices for eye contact, but our cameras generally limit the view to the top half of our bodies. We will have to use more verbal explanations as a result.
It may be quite a demanding experience, especially for those using computer screens in everyday life at the moment. We may spend some time building resources and developing a self-care plan to support you.
Guidance
We encourage you to treat an online session as you would an in-person session and implement as many of the same boundaries as possible.
Find a comfortable space with privacy. This could be a comfortable armchair, your office desk, garden, parked car or the living room floor. We suggest sitting on something where your back is supported and encourage you to get up and move if you start to feel uncomfortable.
You may wish to put a note on the door of the room requesting that other people do not disturb you except in an emergency.
We encourage you to use headphones or earphones. This keeps the content of our sessions private, improves sound quality and also minimises distractions.
Please close other applications and browser windows on your device and put your phone on silent – or turn it off just as we do in person.
You are welcome to bring water or a cup of tea or coffee with you to the session. Please avoid alcohol and drugs prior to and during the session and please do not smoke or vape during the session.
Your pet is welcome to join you; however, it is important to be aware that this could be distracting for either or both of us.
Give yourself time after the session to process the session before re-joining your family, working or making other calls.
Technical Instructions
Video Conferencing Platforms
Bandwidth Requirements
The call quality on Google Meet is usually very good. It can be improved by you using an Ethernet connection as opposed to Wi-Fi, however, Wi-Fi or 3G/4G will usually work well too. Our first session may involve trying a few of these options. Usually, if your internet is good enough to stream YouTube or Netflix, it is good enough for video conferencing.
We recommend closing all other browser windows and programmes running in the background to make the call quality as good as possible.
Troubleshooting
In the event that it is not possible to connect using the video conferencing platform, we suggest trying to reconnect three times and then communicating via email in order to decide whether to reschedule or try a different method of communication.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or keep a note of them for us to discuss when we next meet.
Contact us
The best way to get in touch
Simply fill out our enquiry form to get in touch with us.