What does it take to benefit from online therapy?

The fundamental guidelines to take advantage of the potential of online psychotherapy as patients.

Online therapy is a rapidly expanding modality of psychological assistance; more and more people are demanding it, and more and more mental health professionals are incorporating this form of patient intervention into their services.

This change is occurring rapidly, and therefore many people are considering seeking professional support online but, at the same time, they do not know what to expect from it or how it works.

Therefore, with the aim of resolving these doubts, over the next few lines we will see how online therapy works, i.e., what are the possibilities it offers, its benefits, and what you have to do to attend it.and what you have to do to attend these sessions as a patient.

What is online therapy and what does it offer?

As its name suggests, online psychotherapy is the type of psychological intervention in patients that is performed using the Internet as a communication channel. Therefore, one of its main characteristics is that therapist and patient do not need to be physically close to each other, although they do need to be connected to the Internet.However, they do need to be connected at the same time, since the communication established between them is in real time.

In most cases, both the psychologist and the person requesting the online therapy service can see and hear each other, since they communicate via video call. In addition, the information they exchange is private, the information they exchange is private and cannot be disseminated by the professional..

Thus, two of the main advantages of online therapy are as follows:

⦁ It saves on travel. ⦁ Provides extra discretion as it can be done from home. ⦁ It is easier to fit into the schedule. ⦁ It is more accessible to all types of people, regardless of where they live or their physical condition.

What to do to attend online psychotherapy sessions: 5 steps to follow.

Here are the basics about how online therapy works.

1. Choosing the professional

Not all psychologists specialize in the same thing and are not trained to intervene in any type of problem.. That is why you should first of all find out about their services and areas of intervention: do they only provide therapy to individual patients, or do they also offer couples therapy? What are the age ranges of the patients they work with? Do they have experience with the form of discomfort that is affecting us?

In addition, it is necessary to make sure that he/she has the ability to perform psychotherapy; to know this, it is necessary to check that he/she is able to show his/her registered psychologist number.

2. Check that we have the necessary technology

Fortunately, today virtually any electronic device manufactured in recent years and with the ability to connect to the Internet can offer the possibility of attending online therapy. It is more important to make sure that the Internet connection is stable.Keep in mind that the sessions with the psychologist usually last about 50 minutes.

3. Establish the first contact

In this first phone call or email you can ask the professional all the doubts you have, or directly request an appointment for a first session.

Remember that even if you do not have to go to the psychotherapist's office, sessions always have to be planned hours or days in advance, and that it is important to respect a scheduleIt is important to respect a schedule, making sure that they always fall on the same days and times of the week.

4. Find a quiet, private place to connect

Ideally, online therapy sessions should take place in a place without noise and where you can enjoy privacy, so that it is easier to establish a dialogue based on honesty and you are not conditioned by the presence of other people. At the end of the day, psychologists are not mind readers, and for us to be able to help you, it is necessary that you talk about what is happening to you.. Remember that all the information you give to the psychologist will be treated as confidential.

5. Establish the connection through the right channel

At this point, the chosen professional will have already indicated the digital platform from which the first session will take place.

Are you interested in finding help through online psychotherapy?

If you want to have professional support through online therapy, contact us. In Cribecca Psychology we will inform you about the services we offer and resolve any questions you have without obligation. You can also have our team of psychologists in the facilities of our center, located in Seville. To see our contact details or you are interested in knowing more about Cribecca Psicología, access this page.

Bibliographical references:

• Change, P.M. (2011). Effectiveness of cybertherapy in mental health: a critical appraisal. Stud Health Technol Inform 167: pp. 3 - 8.
• Gratzer, D. and Khalid-Khan, F. (2016). Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of psychiatric illness. CMAJ, 188(4) pp. 263 – 272.