Online therapy has moved from being almost unheard of to being an equally respected and possibly more popular option than in-person sessions. Research shows it is likely to be just as effective. There’s also some researching suggesting it can be more effective (eg https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8600425/).
I have noticed that clients find it easier to be open and relaxed when they are at home than when travelling to visit my home or a health centre. Clients tend to be on a sofa, at their desk or sometimes on their bed. They are often holding a cup of tea or coffee and clearly don’t feel they are a guest waiting to be shown where to sit or told whether to take their shoes off before coming in.
Most importantly, it means it is easier to talk comfortably and genuinely. On occasion, it even means that the client and I can “go” somewhere together, using street view to revisit trauma sites or phone calls to accompany clients into situations they struggle with.
Here were no significant differences between the groups regarding dropout rates (χ21=0.02-1.06, P≥.30). Regarding adherence to the treatment condition, the online group outperformed the F2F