CBT Therapy St Albans; CBT therapist St Albans
Therapist St Albans
Therapy St Albans
Anxiety Counsellor
Couples Counselling St Albans
Couples therapy st albans; couples counselling st albans
Considering Online therapy?
Online therapy has become more popular since the first UK lockdown in March 2020. It's allowed clients to potentially speak to therapists from all across the UK, rather than being solely based on their geographical location.
​
Online therapy can be equally as effective as face to face therapy and we're delighted to offer this service at Green Chair Counselling Service. If you're looking for solely online therapy, or a mixture of both face to face or online work, our team are qualified to offer both options.
​
Online therapy can feel a little different, compared to meeting a therapist in a face to face setting, so we've listed some benefits/ considerations below, that you may find useful:
​
Benefits
-
You can select a therapist from anywhere in the UK
-
No travel time
-
You can select a more convenient time that suits you
-
Complete privacy - not seeing anyone else in our office
-
Access to session times may be more immediate compared to face to face appointments
​
Considerations
-
Do you have a strong internet/ Wi-Fi signal?
-
Are you in a place where you won't be overheard or interrupted?
-
You may not have appropriate technology
-
How you may feel speaking to a therapist in your home
-
How you may feel seeing yourself on a screen
​
Please note that all online sessions are conducted on secure platforms that have end to end encryption for maximum safety, on our part. There are also some ethical considerations that we shall discuss with you, prior to starting online sessions to ensure suitability. This includes any safety concerns, as well as requiring parental/ guardian consent for clients aged under 16. If we do not feel online therapy is suitable, we shall discuss this with you and try to facilitate face to face appointments.
Please also note that we can facilitate online therapy to clients outside of the UK. If you are a client that lives overseas, our contracts and our work is subject to English and Welsh Law with the Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Courts of the United Kingdom.
​​​
If you do decide to go ahead with online therapy we have the below guidance as part of your counselling contract
​
-
Check your internet connection - it's important to ensure you have a strong signal for your session as you don't want to have to keep reconnecting. This will keep the flow of the session going and avoid any unnecessary interruptions. If the connection isn't strong enough, you may wish to consider looking at a Wi-Fi booster or using your mobile data for the session
-
Try it out with a friend or relative before your session - you don't want to test out your internet connection for the first time during the session so it's good to try it out with a friend or relative first. You may find there's a better position somewhere else in your surroundings. This will alleviate the pressure of trying to get a good signal prior to your session
-
Try to focus on your therapist rather than your own image - unlike face-to-face sessions, in online therapy you'll also be able to see yourself on screen. You may become self-conscious about this so try to focus on your therapist, or somewhere else on the screen you can see, to allow you to take the focus away from yourself. Some platforms, such as Zoom, do allow you to remove your image from the screen so if seeing yourself may be an issue we can discuss and agree to only use a platform that allows this
-
Agree a backup plan if the technology fails - even having a good signal and everything planned can't always prevent problems on the day so if this does happen, we can call your contact number to have the session via telephone. Many of our team have completed 80 hours of additional training specifically for online and telephone counselling so the quality of your session will not be reduced
-
Have a comfortable space - make sure you're sat in a comfortable position with good lighting & seating. This will help you to feel more relaxed and focus on the session
-
Ensure you're not going to be overheard or interrupted - privacy is key, as with face-to-face sessions, so you need to ensure you're not going to be disturbed or overheard if there are others at home with you. If this isn't possible it may be worth considering alternative spaces including the car or an outside space, such as the park
-
Be aware of online security - no online platform is 100% safe but that doesn't mean you can't do all you can to protect yourself online. Ensure you have strong passwords to your Wi-Fi connection, email address, mobile phone & online video call platforms