Online Counselling can be amazing …
As long as you have an amazing therapist!
It is not about the modality of therapy, but the therapist, and the relationship that you co-create with that therapist, that will provide you with the wonderful life changing therapy that you seek.
I can understand the scepticism of some. Of course they are seeking the gentlest, easiest and most effective counselling journey. Goodness knows, it is hard enough going near all that stuff without feeling further discomfort. So it’s totally understandable that they wonder about whether a counsellor can truly catch theirs, and maybe their partner’s, body language and their little nuances, from just a screen view of them.
Surely I need to see someone in their physical presence to truly understand them and their relational dynamics?
I secretly chuckle to myself when I hear this. There’s a part of me that wants to challenge that assumption by inviting a prospective client to join me in a free 15 minute zoom chat, so they can personally test my skills of ‘reading’ their body language and unmasking their relational dynamics.
Without any hesitation, I absolutely know, as with all my preceding clients, that those sceptics will be … well, a little surprised, maybe even shocked … at how much I can ascertain even in just a 15 minute zoom chat!
I believe my insightful, and somewhat intuitive understanding, of my clients is my forte as a therapist. Surely it is a pivotal ingredient of successful therapy? To see the nuances and patterns and ways of being and expressing themselves, both verbally and through body language – ways that they are perhaps, not even aware of, or for some, desperately trying to hide.
This skill of finely tuned observation, was taught to me by my father when I was a young child. It has subsequently been honed by my own lived experiences, and by every single client I have ever worked with. So much so, that my mature age and its inherent honed wisdom, has become my super power as a therapist.
I absolutely love what I do – meeting people in that vulnerable place where I dance between compassionate understanding and attuned challenging. For that is core to skilful counselling.
And yes … I can easily do this online.
Just as I can engage a client in the therapeutic process of face to face counselling, so too, can I engage clients all around Australia, and the world, in that same therapeutic process online.
I don’t want to limit my skill and purpose to just face to face counselling in an already well serviced metropolitan area. I have a passion to be able to share my wisdom and skills with those who may not have access to quality counselling.
- For people in rural Australia where mental health support is limited, or simply non-existent.
- For people in foreign countries that do not have a strong mental health awareness, let alone services.
- For people with busy work lives, often travelling internationally. Their individual and relationship therapy does not need to be interrupted by their travels because they can join the session from different localities.
- For people limited by their mobility for many differing reasons – lack of suitable transport, accessibility issues, the needs and busyness of young children, folks house bound due to illness – physical and/or mental. I am sure there are many other needs and reasons I have not listed.
- For couples wanting to begin counselling after domestic violence or toxic behaviours but are naturally tentative and want to begin from different abodes.
- For far flung families wanting to engage in family therapy though they live in different cities, towns, states, and even countries.
- For people limited by time because online means …
- – no time lost driving to and from the counsellor’s rooms,
- – no running late due to heavy traffic,
- – no getting caught out with parking spaces unavailable,
- – no juggling prams for the new born,
- – no hefty parking fine because their trauma counselling session, by necessity, ran over time.
- – no additional baby-sitting fees – and let’s be honest, those little people are likely to occasionally run in and out of the online session (along with the dog and cat!) and this just helps me know the lived experience of my clients all the more than I would in my counselling room.
The absolute gold of online counselling is that people are more relaxed and more real when they have counselling from their own home, garden, car, park bench, holiday house.
You can even do walk and talk therapy with me from anywhere in the world!
Another gem of online counselling is that the counselling skills and insights gained in session, are more likely to be retained and used when they were learnt in your lived environment, and not some sterile counselling room.
This can be especially useful for those with Adult ADHD where visual cues aid memory. Counselling in the lived environment then has inbuilt cues to aid retention and practice
Many people believe they must be in the physical space of a therapist to enjoy quality therapy.
Quite the opposite is true.
Online therapy can provide greater opportunity for the counsellor to truly know the lived experience of their clients and for those clients to retain the therapeutic knowledge and skills.
It’s great therapists that provide great therapy, no matter what the modality …
So choose a therapist, not the modality … to gain life changing counselling.
And go on … I dare you … put my therapeutic insight to the test in a free 15 minute zoom chat!
If nothing else, we will share a good therapeutic belly laugh together and that will make us both feel better …
Because that is what good therapy does.
With appreciation to the photographers (in order) …
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