How Does Teletherapy Compare To In-Person Therapy?
Teletherapy, or therapy conducted via videoconferencing, has expanded greatly over the past few years. Just as telemedicine has become more popular due to the pandemic, so too has teletherapy. In fact, teletherapy has become so popular that there are apps you can use that rely solely on digital connection and no in-person meetings.
If you need mental health treatment, you may want to consider teletherapy. Some people prefer sitting in an office with their therapist, and you might turn out to be one of those people. But starting with teletherapy can help you get treatment while avoiding things that might otherwise convince you to just stay home and cancel the appointment.
Easier Compliance With Showing up on Time
When all a patient has to do to show up for a therapy session is turn on the computer or open an app on their smartphone, it's going to be a lot easier for them to show up on time for each session. No worries about traffic, finding babysitters for the kids, or even worrying about how they're dressed means a lot of those little "barriers" to getting to therapy have been removed.
More Comfortable for the Patient
With teletherapy, the patient can be at home and in a comfortable, familiar setting. They don't have to worry about traffic or dealing with allergens like pollen outside. This may help the patient relax and be more open to speaking, rather than placing them in a clinical office setting that could make them clam up.
Privacy Concerns
If the patient is in their own home during teletherapy, they can close doors and windows to prevent their speech from getting outside. However, if there are family members at home, they could still overhear some of the therapy. If that's not OK with the patient, you may want to consider some in-person sessions.
Some people head to their cars to get some privacy, but even those aren't completely soundproof. Privacy concerns should be addressed early on in the therapy to ensure the patient feels they can speak freely.
Fewer Body Language Clues
One thing patients and therapists need to be aware of is that teletherapy, which is often done with both parties sitting at desks and computers, does not show the patient's whole body. This means the therapist may not see body language clues that could help the therapy progress. For people who have mild issues or who just need someone to talk to, this might not be an issue. For patients whose mental state affects them physically, however, at least a few in-person sessions may be a good idea so that the therapist can see if body language would be a necessary component of determining what's going on.
If you want or need mental health treatment, teletherapy can be a very convenient way to get the help you need. If in-person works better for you, then definitely use that mode. But if you've avoided therapy because you need to isolate due to illness or because you just can't make yourself go to an office, for example, teletherapy is right there, at your home.
To learn more about treatment, contact a company like Ascent Mental Health.