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Making the Most of your Online Therapy Sessions

During the recent challenges brought about by Covid-19, we all had to make significant changes to our lives and adapt quickly to a new reality. This is also true for therapists and clients who shifted quickly from the safety and familiarity of their consulting rooms to video or telephone meetings. I would like to acknowledge the impact of these changes on both clients and therapists on a separate blog. But first, to help remove some of the anxiety of involved in this transition I want to outline how you can make the most of your online therapy sessions.

  1. Spend some time setting up

Although most of us are familiar with video technology in our personal and professional lives, meeting online for therapy requires some preparation. Not just in terms of tech but also allowing a psychological transition into the therapy space, especially if you are shifting from a different activity in your home.

Give some thought to the room you wish to use, making sure that it is private and quiet, and that you will be sitting comfortably for the duration of the session. Make sure your devices are fully charged or plugged in and well positioned, so that you can see and hear your therapist well. Preferably wear headphones for a better sound quality and experience. Have a phone available in case one of you encounter issues with your tech and need to continue your session over the phone.

Finally, make sure the lighting in the room is positioned so you can also be seen well. Seeing and hearing you well will enable your therapist to ‘tune in’ much better to you, reading nuances in your facial expressions and tone of voice.

  1. Avoid all distractions

Make sure your notifications are switched off and all distractions are put away, such as work and study materials. Most therapy rooms are deliberately thoughtfully furnished in order to offer a calming, comfortable and uncluttered environment.  Ideally try to replicate this in your home where possible. If you live with others, schedule your session at a time when no one will hear or interrupt you.

  1. Communication queues

Psychotherapy and counselling usually take place face to face because it important for both the client and therapist to be able to communicate well with one another. This communication is largely non-verbal and often ‘felt’ rather than spoken. Video can be an additional of barrier to communication, despite advances in technology and video quality. Therefore, it is important that both client and therapist flag up missed queues or gaps in connection as it can be the case with delays or frozen images. Voice any frustrations you are experiencing in relation to this and work with your therapist to try and improve them where possible.

  1. Transitioning into and out of your appointment

As in number 1., give yourself space before and after your session. The travel journey to and from a meeting can help with processing, reflecting and thinking. In the absence of this, allow yourself some quiet time before and after your therapy session. Dealing with difficult emotions and discussing sensitive topics can leave us feeling vulnerable for a little while. If you are using your therapy to work on relationship difficulties with someone you live with, engaging with them straight after your appointment might not be a good idea. Go for a walk, take a bath, or just ask for some quiet time on your own. Equally, moving from a therapy session straight into dealing with work emails might not be such a good plan.

  1. Remember the positives

With Covid-19, we have moved our face to face meetings online because of circumstance rather than out of choice. However, people have been offering online therapy for quite a few years now. Although my preference remains meeting people in person, I am beginning to appreciate some of the advantages of online working. For instance, it is nice to be able to use headsets and adjust the volume if I can’t hear someone well. Because I no longer need to travel to and from work, I now have more time to do things I used to have no time for. It has also given me much more flexibility to see clients at times I previously couldn’t. There are advantages and disadvantages of working at home and working online. It will take us sometime to get used to our new reality. If we can’t change our new predicament, we may as well make the most of it!

 

Sam Jahara is a Psychotherapist and Supervisor in private practice working with individuals and couples. She is also the co-founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, a multi-approach clinic, offering Psychotherapy, Psychology and Counselling to all client groups, both face-to-face and online.

 

Further reading by Sam Jahara

How Psychotherapy will be vital in helping people through the Covid-19 crisis

Leaving the Family

Psychotherapy and the climate crisis

Psychotherapy can change your life – but you may not want it to

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How Psychotherapy will be vital in helping people through the Covid-19 crisis

Many self-employed psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors have immediately felt the economic impact of the crisis brought by Covid-19. As our clients began to either loose their jobs or face increasing economic uncertainty, many had to either put their sessions on hold or stop coming all together. Many of us have either dropped our fees or continued seeing people with the uncertainty of getting paid. Unfortunately, some people have lost their support system when they need it the most.

Private Psychotherapy has always been enjoyed by many in the UK and around the world, as most national health services cannot offer the same level of professional service due to cost.

Psychotherapy practices have always offered a vital service to the community, whether through charities, low cost services or full paying clinics. Psychotherapy is a place where people’s deepest mental anguishes have a place to exist, to unfold and to be healed.

The health and consequent economic crisis brought by Covid-19 is already affecting people’s mental health in several ways, some of which have not yet come to light. This is being felt and will continue to be felt for a while to come at all levels of society.

An Existential Crisis

Covid-19 has highlighted our main vulnerabilities as human beings. It has hit many people at a very fundamental existential level as many have lost their jobs and their livelihoods overnight. In addition to this, as more people become infected and die of Coronavirus, we have become much more aware of our mortality and that of those we love.

Living in a globalised world, the spread of the virus had happened so rapidly that we have not had the time to process and digest the changes which we have been required to make as a result of the restrictions imposed to keep the virus from spreading. Never could we have imagined that something which started in China a few months ago could spread and reach our doorstep so rapidly and dramatically. This further highlighted our lack of immunity to world events.

Impacts of Lockdown

With people being asked to stay at home to protect the NHS, schools and businesses closing and people being asked to work from home (if they still have work), suddenly the home has become office, school, gym, social hub and place of relaxation. Whilst some families are feeling more crowded as a result of these changes, some people living on their own have become more lonely, isolated and vulnerable.

Some families trying to make life work under lockdown are finding that their relationships are being put under more strain, whilst children of unhappy and even abusive families are being made to stay at home more.

Of course, there are also positive stories emerging as a result of families spending more time together and solidarity between people. In times such as this, we are seeing the best and the worst of human nature.

Why is Psychotherapy vital during these times?

To put it simply, in times of crisis psychotherapy helps us to hold onto our thinking. When our survival is threated, our ‘reptilian brain’ takes over and we can act impulsively (panic buying for instance) often resulting in harm to self or others. Thinking makes us slow down and consider options. In times of crisis we sometimes need to think quickly and make decisions. However, buying time to think enables us to put things into perspective and to make wise rather than impulsive decisions.

Because this is both a health and economic crisis, it is hitting many of us at our very core. The British attitude to “keep calm and carry on” works to a degree. Of course, we need to keep calm, but we also need a place to acknowledge and talk about our fears, losses, despair, sadness, anger, etc if we are going to survive this crisis in good mental health.

 

Sam Jahara is a Psychotherapist and Supervisor in private practice working with individuals and couples. She is also the co-founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, a multi-approach clinic, offering Psychotherapy, Psychology and Counselling to all client groups, both face-to-face and online.

 

Further reading by Sam Jahara

Leaving the Family

Psychotherapy and the climate crisis

Psychotherapy can change your life – but you may not want it to

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COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) Important Notice

We would like to reassure all our clients that Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, including The Barn, in Lewes,  is operating as normal despite the current situation. 

We are coordinating our response to the virus to ensure we can continue to deliver sessions to our clients, look after the welfare of our associates and maintain the continuity of our practices.

Psychotherapy sessions do not involve physical contact and a boundaried physical working distance of more than a metre between clinician and client is maintained in sessions as general good practice.

Should clients or clinicians need to self-isolate, regular sessions will continue using video call or telephone as an alternative means of working, until face-to-face sessions can be resumed.

We are monitoring the situation closely, guided by appropriate health organisation advice (PHE) and relevant government guidelines.

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So what actually is a Psychologist?

It’s important to note that the term ‘psychologist’ is not actually a protected title.  So, anyone can technically call themselves a psychologist.  If someone claims to be a psychologist, then the question to ask is, what kind of psychologist are they, and perhaps more importantly, what qualifications do they have.

Undergraduate degrees may be undertaken as either a Batchelor of Science or of Arts.  Completing an undergraduate degree in psychology gives a good basic introduction to a wide range of psychological theories and applications, but not necessarily expertise in any one area.

The British Psychological Society describes psychology as:

‘the scientific study of the mind and how it dictates and influences our behaviour, from communication and memory to thought and emotion.  It’s about understanding what makes people tick and how this understanding can help us address many of the problems and issues in society today.’

There are many areas of both theory and application within psychology; health, educational, forensic, counselling, occupational, clinical, sports and exercise, and neuro.  Becoming qualified in one of these fields requires post-graduate study.

In the example of Clinical Psychology; the current route for training is a 3 year doctoral degree (after the undergraduate degree) which involves both university teaching days and days on placement with the NHS.  In order for someone to call themselves a Clinical Psychologist, they must have completed an approved training course, and be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The HCPC regulates all applied psychologists within the areas above. The below are protected titles, which means people can only use them if they have completed an approved training course and complete ongoing appropriate Continuing Professional Development.

  • Practitioner psychologist
  • Registered psychologist
  • Clinical psychologist
  • Forensic psychologist
  • Counselling psychologist
  • Health psychologist
  • Educational psychologist
  • Occupational psychologist
  • Sport and exercise psychologist

Any other titles, such as Media Psychologist, Celebrity Psychologist or TV Psychologist, such as are often seen in the media, say nothing about the qualifications or expertise of the individual.  Understandably this is often misunderstood by the public.  As a Clinical Psychologist it concerns me that people may put their trust in, or even pay for services delivered by, unqualified people.  In addition it is concerning that the reputation or credibility of the profession may be damaged by unqualified people providing a poor service.

It is a very confusing area, however, probably the most important thing to remember is if you are considering working with a psychologist in any of the fields above check that they are registered with the HCPC on www.hcpc-uk.org

 

Dr Emma Stevens, HCPC Registered, is an experienced Clinical Psychologist. She has an integrative approach drawing on Cognitive Behavioural, Systemic and Psychodynamic models, as well as Attachment Theory. Emma sees individuals primarily for sort-term work. Emma is available at our Lewes Practice.

 

Further reading by Dr Emma Stevens

Using the body to calm the mind

Emotional Well-being

What is EMDR?

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