Online counselling tips

“I never even thought I’d go to counselling, and now I’m doing it through my computer?!”

This sentiment a client shared with me earlier this week (posted here with permission) may really resonate with you. Sometimes getting help feels like a stretch on its own, and the thought of counselling through your laptop or phone may feel awkward. To put you at ease, here are some tips for getting the most out of your distance counselling session:

  1. Consider setting. The flexibility afforded by online or phone counselling may mean you find yourself in your house, car, or a bench in the park. Just ensure that you’re in a private space somewhere so that you can speak freely, with a stable internet connection, using a device with a good battery charge.

  2. Internet connection. If you’re able to, try to be in the same room as your modem or router. Better yet, plug into ethernet for your session. I have taken steps to procure the highest speed internet I can (high speed package, wired connection, no other users during our sessions), but if you’re trying to get wifi from your concrete bunker, we are going to have a bad time.

  3. If you’re at home, try to minimize bandwidth use by asking if others in your home can pause their streaming services for an hour (eg. Netflix), unless your current bandwidth set up can handle the traffic. This can make a huge difference to the quality of your connection.

  4. Free yourself from distractions. Turn notifications off and try to be in a quiet space where your emotional and therapeutic process isn’t likely to be interrupted.

  5. Turn your own video feed off or hide it. This can be one of the biggest distractions as people tend to monitor how they appear on live video. If you hide it or turn it off, you can just focus on your session content and process without worrying about what you look like. This goes both ways - I always turn my image of myself off, so we can look weird together.

  6. Go for a big screen. If it’s available to you, use a computer or a tablet. While therapy can also be successfully done on a smaller phone screen, your eyes will strain less if it’s a larger screen and will feel more similar to an in-person session.

  7. Allow an extra five or ten minutes before session starts to try out the encrypted video counselling platform that I use. This will allow you to test your audio and video ahead of time and will enable you to get the most out of your session.

  8. Ensure your security. While I have done everything I can to ensure your privacy (e.g., I use an SSL encrypted platform based in Canada), I ultimately cannot control who is looking over your shoulder or overhearing what you are saying. Please take a moment to consider your privacy and online security before beginning your session.

Amended version of tips found here: https://vitalitycollective.ca/online-therapy

Amanda Thiessen