Today I completed an online course developed by the Open University and BACP about how counsellors can best deliver online therapy. Most of us are used to working face to face for the vast majority of the time - including me - so this was a very useful piece of professional development that made me think about enhancing my practice online during the Covid-19 crisis.
In common with many counsellors, I previously only offered online counselling where a face to face session was impossible, e.g. if my client’s car breaks down and they can’t physically get to the session, or perhaps they are forced to move to a different part of the country for their work but are not ready to finish counselling yet. I always saw it as a “good enough substitute” for face to face counselling.
It’s funny how, now that it’s the only option, I’ve been reconsidering my views! Suddenly, with both existing and new clients, online sessions are our only option, and we have to make the best of it. I wanted to make my online sessions as good as they could possibly be, offering my clients something that was as close as possible to the face to face experience, and I have found this easier than I imagined I would.
I worried that I might not ‘catch’ the entirety of a client’s meaning or feelings, having less body language to go on, and a rather more abrupt start to the session than if they had walked into my studio and told me about their journey to get here. I think this was partly a lapse in confidence: no counsellor, not matter how well trained we are and how well we focus, can ever get absolutely every message the client sends. I think online I do well enough at this, as I do in face to face sessions. And there are still ways to begin sessions that feel warm and welcoming, even if we have ‘magically’ met by the touch of a button.
It’s been important to me to set up a confidential working space at home where I will not be interrupted or overheard, and of course when working online it’s important to ensure your firewall and virus software is up to date. Clients have to think about this too, and it’s not always easy when we are all in lockdown with other family members vying for our attention. I hope that, for those clients who can’t access the online therapy they might want at the moment, there will soon come a time where face to face meetings are possible again and access is easier.
Research shows that online counselling is effective, providing similar outcomes to traditional face to face therapy. There is a suggestion that the working alliance between client and counsellor may be stronger in face to face therapy, but that clients tend to open up more quickly in online sessions. I found this research interesting and reassuring: I am clearly not shortchanging my clients by meeting them online. While I think I will always prefer meeting face to face, for the additional cues it gives and the ‘human warmth factor’ that perhaps comes over more naturally in person, I am glad that I have sharpened my online skills. It opens up a whole new world of working for the future, and gives us all more flexibility.
If you are a counsellor looking to do this training, you can find it here.
