Choosing the right mode of support for you

I offer therapy using three different modes; telephone, videocalls and in person. Choosing the right mode for you is personal and depends on your circumstances and what you feel most comfortable with. 

I have presented some of the main issues to consider here and hope this will help you to decide on the right mode of therapy for you.

Telephone Counselling

Telephone counselling is where you have a therapy session through speaking to me on the telephone. The session will be 60 minutes long.

Considerations

Telephone counselling offers flexibility with your physical location when you have your session. You do not need to rely on an internet connection and so can have more choice about where you position yourself for your session. This can be helpful if you live with others and need to find a private space outside of your home. 

With telephone counselling you are responsible for providing the therapeutic space for your therapy. You need to think carefully about the space you choose to be in when you have a session and ensure that it is somewhere safe and somewhere that you will not be disturbed or overheard and can focus on the therapy.

You also need to consider before and after the sessions and what you might do to prepare yourself physically and psychologically for the sessions. For example, ensuring you have water and spending some time in the space before the sessions and also afterwards. Therapy sessions can bring up intense emotions. Making sure that you have some time before you have to go back to your usual life responsibilities is useful.

I will call you when you choose a telephone session so that you do not have to use your credit. You do need to be mindful of the signal required for your phone and factor that in when deciding where to have your therapy session.

I will always carry out telephone sessions in my usual therapy room, which is a private space.

Telephone counselling means that we are reliant on what we communicate verbally, since visual cues are not available on a telephone. This can result in both of us having to concentrate more on how we express and communicate our thoughts and feelings to one another using words. We also may sometimes need to compensate for the lack of visual cues by describing our facial expressions or body language, for example “I’m smiling as I say this” or “I’ve just hugged myself with my arms”

The lack of visual cues in telephone counselling can mean that it is not an appropriate mode of therapy for people where observing non-verbal communication and your bodily response is important for the therapy. For example, if you are seeking therapy to process trauma, have early attachment issues, severe anxiety or addictions then a mode of therapy where I can observe how you are physically responding to the therapy can be more beneficial.

Online therapy

Online therapy is where you have a therapy session via video. This involves us meeting online for a video call using an online platform. Online therapy sessions are for 60 minutes.

There are different online platforms available, such as Skype, Zoom, Facetime, Whatsapp, for example. I use the online platform, Zoom. Once you have arranged your therapy appointment, I will send you a zoom weblink.  You then just click on the link to access the online meeting at the agreed time. 

Considerations

Online therapy can be undertaken anywhere that you have a WiFi connection and can be in a private space where you will not be disturbed. Like telephone counselling you are responsible for creating the therapeutic space where you can focus on the therapy.

You will need to consider how you prepare for sessions and how you take some time afterwards before you go back into your day-to-day activities

You will need to ensure that you have access to a device that allows you to connect to the internet and that you have a good internet signal for online therapy.

I will always carry out online sessions in my usual therapy room, which is a private space.

With online sessions I am able to see the physical space that you are in. There are options on Zoom that allow you to change the background to an image if you wished to keep your home or room private.

There is also an option on Zoom to ‘hide self-view’ if you do not want to see your face throughout the therapy session. I personally always turn my ‘self-view’ off so I am not distracted by this.

Having therapy online, using a video call means that we get to see each other’s faces. This means that you gain more visual and non-verbal cues which can support the therapy. We are still only able to see our faces and shoulders, so some communication will still be lost from not being able to observe all of each other’s bodies.

Privacy

Maintaining your privacy online is more difficult than telephone counselling or Face to Face and requires further consideration. I have implemented a number of mechanisms to increase the security of our sessions. However, it is not possible to guarantee complete privacy. 

To ensure your privacy online I have chosen Zoom which has an encrypted end to end service to maintain your privacy. It also has a waiting room function so I can ensure that you are the only person on the call online and once I ‘let you in’ I can lock the room behind you (virtually!) I use a laptop for online sessions that is password protected, has a Virtual Private Network (VPN) installed and I always clear browsing cookies after our session to maximise security.

I can only put security mechanisms in from my side though. Security of your own device and online activities would remain your responsibility.

In person therapy

In person therapy is where you come to my consultation room for your therapy session. The session will be 60 minutes long.

Considerations

Physically attending a face-to-face therapy session means that you must factor in the additional travel time and costs to attend the session. You need to consider parking or public transport routes to travel to me. You also need to consider access to my consultation room and toilet facilities if mobility is an important issue for you.

When you are attending in person sessions it is my responsibility to keep the space safe and free from disturbances. This can be relaxing, knowing that I am looking after you during this time and you don’t need to worry about organising a quiet space. 

Physically going to a therapy space can take you out of your usual environment and responsibilities and can become a safe space just for you. Travelling to and from therapy can be a welcome transitional time where you are preparing for your therapy and then processing the session before slowly returning to your day-to-day life. It can make the therapy session more of an obvious time out from your usual life, giving it clear boundaries and markers to honour this time and keep it sacrosanct; just for you.

Having a time that you have set aside just for yourself and where you know that you will be cared during this time can be therapeutic in itself.