It felt like a glacier melting. Still chilly, I reached out to fellow certified holistic health practitioner Joe Sutton. She surprised me with her enthusiasm. “Zoom sessions are the greatest blessing we have gotten out of these dark times,” she said.
“Really? Why?” I asked.
“It saves me a lot of time,” she replied happily. “It used to take an hour to put on the right clothes, pack the day’s food, stroll around town, pick up freshly cut flowers, go to the park, light a candle, and make a cup of tea. All that’s left is to get dressed (from the waist up) and put it on, and there I am.”
“But what does that mean for customers?” I asked dumbfounded.
“They say they prefer it because it’s convenient.”
I felt the thought warm my heart, but still felt that I needed more insight, so I reached out to Patti Ashley, a licensed professional counselor. She says, “I miss giving my clients a tissue when they cried, or a soft blanket when we were discussing a difficult subject. but it may be more empowering for clients in the long run.”
So I wrote back to my client and scheduled some time to explore this strange new frontier. The next day, Sophie (another client, not her real name) was wearing a pink frilly shirt and her deep blue eyes seemed larger than they really were on my computer screen. I could even see a thin red line in her bloodshot eyes. I taught her how to get out of her hypnosis according to her needs. We laughed every time her cat walked over the keyboard and she joked that her cat needed a session as much as she did.
By the end of the hour, Sophie seemed energized and said she was definitely feeling better than before she started. We were amazed at how connected she felt even though we were about 3,400 miles apart.
Let’s fast forward to today. Over the years, hundreds of Zoom therapy sessions have taken place. Looking back on being 2020, and kidding myself so far, here are my judgments on the pros and cons of cybertherapy:
Cons
- Impersonal: We cannot escape the fact that we are social creatures. Even with the easing of restrictions due to the pandemic, many feel like the flowers have wilted as they are no longer able to bask in the presence of each other as frequently or freely as before. A key component of the session’s value has been found to be the atmosphere created by the therapist.
- Uncontrolled environment: In a virtual session, the therapist guides the client in their preferred uterus so that the client feels safe and supported (this is vital to the healing process as it allows them to open up more easily and share their suffering). I can’t create an environment like When you’re trying to soothe someone to a memory deep within their wounds, the rustling of leaves, the clatter of pots behind you, or the sounds of children running into the room can derail the process. may be lost.
- Technical flaw: Sometimes the power goes out, the screen freezes, and the client is so engrossed in talking that they don’t realize their laptop screen is below eye level, forcing us to hear them sob. Talk while looking up at your nose.
Strong Points
- Explosion of chance: Teletherapy will allow people to access mental health services from all over the world. Back in pre-pandemic times, if you lived outside of a metropolitan area, you would have considered yourself lucky to have a therapist within a 20-mile radius. And I hope that therapist is a good therapist. These days, we are not limited by geography.
- Another kind of intimacy: Zoom can’t read each other’s full body language, but it’s just a foot away from your face. You can look into each other’s eyes, a window into your soul larger than life, which in a way helps you bond.
- Reduce costs and effort: No more worrying about gas, parking, transportation or other costs to get to and from your session. For therapists, remote sessions eliminate the need to pay for expensive office space. Similarly, in Los Angeles, where I live, it was not uncommon for clients to call me on the way to a session and tell me they had to cancel due to traffic. Remote sessions are no longer the norm, and you no longer have to leave your home to speak to an expert. Generally, any quiet, private space in your home is fine.
- Filters and backgrounds: Finally, and certainly the worst thing, even if you don’t have time to organize your home office, a virtual background can save the day and give the therapist a professional look (no clutter of paperwork or unfolded laundry). while hiding ). Not to mention, if you need more time to get the perfect outfit for your session, Zoom filters can help you look better than you actually are. All this applies to clients as well. If you’re joining a session from your mobile phone, you don’t have to worry about laundry on your bed. The challenge with this issue, however, is that if you end up meeting in person, you’ll have to expect more wrinkles and darker lines than you’re used to.
I often tell my clients that it’s a terrible thing to let a crisis go to waste. And I think it’s ironic that pandemic isolation has created more demand for mental health care than ever before. And the supply for it has also increased.
Last week I met with Kappas again to see how teletherapy was continuing to work for him. I was not surprised to hear that he was happier than ever. When our conversation ended, his phone rang. It was a post on his Facebook from his colleague. “It’s great to meet customers online. I thought this job would be in person. I just got back from his five-week trip to Italy, where we had Zoom sessions every day. .”
With the good and the bad hitting an avalanche now, I can’t imagine being in the world of therapy and going back to the old carriage rides.
