Myths and truths about online psychology

A review of the doubts or misconceptions that may exist about online therapy.

It is very possible that we have heard that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, online psychological consultations have increased more than 200%. online psychological consultations have increased by more than 200%.. This has led many people to wonder, as the pandemic has progressed, whether it makes sense to go for online therapy or to return to face-to-face therapy, and this leads us to ask: Is online therapy as effective and beneficial as face-to-face therapy?

To answer this question, we must first take into account the fact that it is becoming more and more common to ask for psychological help (face-to-face or online), and it is just as common to ask for it as it is to ask for it online.It is as common as going to physiotherapy sessions or medical appointments. Therefore, it is very logical that we ask more questions about psychological therapy and, in particular, about one of its modalities already common today, online therapy.

Today there is still much skepticism and many doubts about the possibility of going to psychological therapy, because this type of help can still be seen as something strange or distant, of which many people doubt as to its usefulness and effectiveness, especially if we talk about online therapy, which some distrust.

Getting to know online therapy and what it entails.

We are going to help you to break myths and also we are going to raise what advantages we can find in online psychology. advantages we can find in online psychologyeven compared to face-to-face therapy. Knowing them will encourage you to seek psychological help through this modality, leaving aside any doubts or reservations you may have when opting for this type of therapy.

1. No need to travel

Being able to carry out our session from our own homeThe fact that online therapy can be done from other places where we feel comfortable, for example in a private room at work, is one of the great advantages of online therapy. It even offers us the possibility of not having to miss a visit due to travel or vacation.

By not having to spend time traveling to the office, it certainly allows time for other daily needs. allows us to have time for other daily needs. Many people do not have enough time to attend a face-to-face therapy, due to their jobs or the care of children or other family members.

But in addition to the shortage of time, we must also talk about those who find it difficult to travel due to transportation issues. We are talking about people who live far from the nearest psychologist, who do not have good communication channels or who have some kind of physical mobility difficulty. That is why the online modality will be a great incentive for these people.

2. Flexibility of schedule

The flexibility in the schedule is undoubtedly another advantage that we can find in the online psychology, since we can establish our schedule in agreement with the psychologist. we can establish our schedule of consultation in agreement with the therapist in a more flexible way by avoiding travel.

In this way, we will gain in time and we can achieve not only the improvements we seek in our psychological well-being, but we can also choose the time that best suits our needs. This is very important, since we will be able to better integrate therapy into our lives.

It should be noted that in online therapy, there is greater flexibility and ease of scheduling appointments. This is a great advantage and a benefit when choosing the online modality. This is a great advantage and a benefit when choosing the online modality.

3. Confidentiality

One of the most common questions when people consider resorting to online therapy is if privacy is assuredor if our therapy can be exposed to the knowledge of other people.

Undoubtedly, online therapy, as well as face-to-face therapy, provides full confidentiality if the professional in charge of conducting it respects all the established professional rules and codesThis is an issue with which there is a high sensitivity on the part of psychology professionals. Therefore it is always good to ask about this point to the professional, and we must bear in mind that we will gain greater security in this regard if the sessions are being held through encrypted platforms of psychology, such as TherapyChat, over services such as zoom or skype.

It is no secret that, sometimes, one of the doubts that people raise when it comes to receiving psychological help is confidentiality and, at times, the doubt around this privacy can lead to renounce to receive this help..

That is why we must assess in detail the option of receiving online therapy if this issue makes us especially uncomfortable, because if the professional complies with all the necessary measures, we can also guarantee that no one will see us entering a physical psychology consultation, and we will not have to worry about the "paper walls" effect.

4. Closeness and warmth

At the same time, we are faced with the question of whether conducting the therapy online will be a barrier in terms of proximity to the psychologist. a barrier in terms of proximity to the psychologist or if there will be a certain or if there will be a certain coldness in the therapeutic relationship.

In response to this, online therapy does not entail a problem in this area, given that interaction via video call implies the same level of communication between people as we can find in a face-to-face psychological consultation.. And we can be sure that psychology professionals are experts in handling communication.

In this way, the difference will be that instead of having a table between patient and therapist, we will find a screen, so in no case there would be a difficulty in terms of closeness and warmth with the professional.

5. Immediacy in the face of emergencies

Another point in favor of this type of therapy is that if an emergency or some kind of unexpected difficulty arises, the patient will have no problem in communicating to the therapist. will have no problem in communicating to the therapist the problem that has arisen.In this way, it is possible to reach a relief or resolution of such problems in the fastest, most efficient and accurate way possible.

In this sense, there may be a more immediate contact and the difficulties may be solved in the shortest possible time, preserving anonymity and with total closeness between the patient and his therapist.

To this end, the good adaptation of new technologies to online therapy will undoubtedly will undoubtedly be an advantage that we will find in this type of therapy in comparison with face-to-face therapy, where this type of help will not normally be as immediate as with online therapy, since it is not in such a flexible context.

6. Proven effectiveness

Possibly, the biggest doubt when undergoing online therapy is whether the effectiveness of this type of therapy is similar or less than in face-to-face therapy. This questioning is to be expected in the face of a type of therapy that has a much shorter time course than face-to-face therapy. However, the current results show that there is no difference between face-to-face and face-to-face therapy, current results show that there is no difference in treatment efficacy between the two types of therapy. in the treatment of one type of therapy and the other.

In fact, since the 60s of the last century, Telepsychology has been subjected to research, and the same effectiveness of online treatments has been proven as in face-to-face, and even higher levels of maintenance of these improvements have been registered after some time, as David Mohr assures (Doctor in Clinical Psychology and director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, who has dedicated his career to research in this area).

In the end, the main factor in terms of effectiveness is found in the professional work of the therapist and the commitment of the patient.. That is why if we find the right professional, with a high level of commitment on our part, we can only predict that online therapy will have a high prognosis of success.

In this way, all the doubts referred to this area at the time of opting for an online therapy, should not be in any case a barrier nor should they be a renunciation to receive a necessary help for every person in a complex moment of his life.

In conclusion...

After highlighting all these advantages within the online therapy, we conclude that knowing more about mental health and its benefits will help us to be aware of the state of our mental health.It can also help us to make the decision to receive this type of help, being the online modality an option that in many occasions will make a lot of sense.

Besides, to be informed and to know more about mental health and the possibility of receiving therapy online, will help us to help people close to us who may require psychological care and who, perhaps because of their own circumstances or difficulties, do not know or need guidance to resort to this type of help.

Thus, before any doubt that may arise when it comes to online therapy, we must bear in mind that despite the doubts, there are many points in favor of taking the decision, such as the absence of displacements, the time flexibility, the confidentiality, the proximity and warmth, the immediacy in case of emergencies and the proven efficacy..

Thus, when faced with the need to improve our mental health at a complicated time in our lives, where for various reasons it may be difficult to go to a face-to-face consultation, online therapy will be a great tool for us, online therapy will be a very helpful tool both for us and for those around us. And do not doubt it, going to therapy, in any way, is better than not going to any therapy at all.