By: Greg Douglas, LMHC
Have you always attended counseling or therapy the traditional way? You make an appointment at the counselor’s office and show up for your session. No problem, right? Well, while this method works fine for some, it can also be limiting for others. Let’s go over the pros and cons of meeting in person and meeting online for counseling. Once you have all the facts you can make the choice that works best for you.
The Pros of In-Person Counseling
Connection
For me the best thing about meeting in-person for counseling sessions is the face-to-face connection. The ability to feel the emotion in the room and seeing the other person’s face up close helps to build rapport.
An Excuse to Get Out of the House
I have had quite a few clients, especially couples, use their session as a chance to get out of the house together. These clients often schedule their sessions so they can have lunch or dinner afterwards and use the time to re-connect.
The Cons of In-Person Counseling
From having to leave work early, the commute to the counselor’s office, to fighting the traffic there are many more obstacles in place for meeting in-person.
The Commute
Some of you may not have the time to leave your office, commute for 20 minutes, have a 60-minute session, and commute 20 minutes back. Meeting online would eliminate 40 minutes and give you valuable time to finish work or spend more time with your family. Many people would be able to meet during their lunch break.
Fighting traffic
We all know how the traffic can be in South Florida, and if you’re like me, you will take every opportunity to avoid driving in rush-hour traffic. When meeting online you have no traffic to worry about!
Last Minute Issues
What happens if you scheduled a counseling appointment but forgot that the cable company is coming to do repairs at the same time. If you were only willing to meet in-person you would have to cancel the session and miss out on the opportunity to make progress towards your goals. If you can meet online, there is no problem here, you can take care of both issues by attending your session and taking care of your household tasks!
The Pros of Online Counseling
The Convenience
The ability to meet from the comfort of your own home or office is a huge pro. Many people will feel more comfortable in a familiar setting and this often encourages clients to open up more quickly.
Flexibility in Scheduling
There may only be a couple of options during the week where you can get out and meet face-to-face, but when you can log in from your phone, tablet, or laptop many more options are available. If you have to go out of town on a 2-week business trip you don’t have to put your counseling on hold!
Saving Time
Imagine that you attend around 15 counseling sessions and it takes you 15 minutes to get to the office and 15 minutes to get home. You would spend 7.5 hours just on your commute to therapy. All that time could be saved by meeting online!
Confidentiality
Some clients are concerned about running into friends or people they know while at the counselor’s office. This is a moot point when meeting online, since you don’t have to leave the comfort of your house. There is also no need to worry about the privacy of your video chat here at Douglas Counseling as we use HIPAA compliant software for all online counseling.
The Cons of Online Counseling
The only issue I have run into with online counseling is the worry of a bad internet connection or the occasional dropped call. While this can happen, I find it to happen very infrequently.
Making the Choice
So, what seems to be the better fit for you? Remember that there is no wrong answer here. Keep in mind that both options are currently available at Douglas Counseling and I actually have no preference either way. As with many things in life it simply comes down to an individual’s preference. Many clients chose a combination of in-person and online meetings depending on their schedules, so there is plenty of flexibility!
If you are interested in getting started in counseling, please give us a call at (503) 388-6611 and visit us online at www.DouglasCounseling.com.
