With society moving further and further into a digital world, it is no surprise that increasingly more services are becoming available online. One of these services is therapy.
Far from the classic image of laying on a couch in a therapist’s office while they jot down notes, having therapy available online makes the service more readily available for those who like to travel.
Indeed, travel & tending to your mental health can co-exist – but what is online therapy?
Online Therapy
Often referred to as “e-therapy”, online therapy encompasses the service of counseling via the Internet, through a variety of delivery methods, including: text message, email, or video chat.
Best of all this is accessible from your hotel room, hostel, airbnb, or the comfort of wherever you happen to call home.
How Does Online Therapy Work?
If you were interested in online therapy services, the first step would be to do your research. There are hundreds of online “therapists”, but if you are genuinely wanting professional counseling, you will want to find someone who is educated and has the proper credentials.
You will want to take multiple factors into consideration when choosing a therapist, such as: types and lengths of sessions available, cost, insurance coverage capabilities, the therapists gender (if you are more or less comfortable sharing with one or the other), and the therapists area of expertise (depending on what you need to work on with your therapist).
From here, you would either contact that therapist directly, or through a service host. These hosts may charge their own fees, such as monthly membership fees or signup fees. They often connect you with multiple available therapists.
Before committing to any therapist, have a conversation with them (either online or on the phone). This can be an effective way to tell if that therapist is the proper fit for you and your needs.
Once you’ve picked a therapist, you will begin scheduling sessions. Depending on the therapist, your sessions may be over video chat, audio chat, or even through text messages or email.
These sessions will mirror the typical in-person sessions, is the sense that you will discuss various topics, such as your situation, your emotions, things you are struggling with, etc..
Who Benefits?
A group of people who benefit greatly from online therapy are people who are often on the go. People who travel a lot, either for pleasure or for work, or people who have incredibly busy schedules, who just do not have the time of day to sit in with a therapist during office hours.
Having the ability to receive these counseling services via a network that is location and, sometimes, time independent, may afford many individuals who are in need of therapy the option to get the help they need, when they may not have been able to get it otherwise.
