141 - Friday Fix: The Pros and Cons of Online Therapy

The Verywell Mind Podcast

Dotdash Media Inc.

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Education

5 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2022

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Although online therapy has grown in popularity during the pandemic, a lot of people are still hesitant to try it. And it’s wise to question whether online treatment can be effective as face-to-face therapy. Afterall, the relationship between a client and a therapist is key to a positive treatment outcome. Can someone really establish a healthy alliance with a therapist over video chat or messaging? As a therapist who has only ever provided face-to-face treatment, I had a lot of questions myself. So I decided to test some of the major online therapy websites. I signed up for treatment as a client to see what it would be like to access services. I discovered that online therapy isn’t for everyone. But it did have some distinct advantages over face-to-face treatment in some areas. I also learned that not all online therapy websites are created equal. Some have better features, others are more affordable, and some specialize in specific treatments. I thought it would be helpful to share what I learned along the way. I talk about what I liked and didn’t like about online therapy. If you’re questioning online treatment for yourself or you’re wondering if you should suggest it for someone else, check out this episode. I’ll tell you the pros and cons of online therapy and how you can find the best online treatment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.
0:22.9	This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.
0:45.6	Okay. You're listening to the Friday fix.
0:53.1	Every Friday, I share a pick mental strength strategy that can help fix the thoughts, feelings, and actions that can fold you back in life.
0:54.8	Today, I'm talking about online therapy. Sometimes I encourage people to reach out to an online therapist, but when I do,
1:00.1	I often get a response like, wait, that's really a thing. Or does online therapy actually work?
1:07.4	So I thought it'd be helpful to clear up some misconceptions and to talk about the potential
1:11.5	pros and cons of seeing a therapist online. Now, full disclosure, I've never provided therapy online
1:17.6	before. I've always worked with people as a face-to-face therapist. But I have been an online
1:23.6	therapy client. I tested all of the big online therapy sites for a project that we did
1:29.0	it very well mined. Essentially, I got to do some undercover journalism. I signed up for several
1:35.2	online therapy services and spent months testing them all out so I could see for myself what it was
1:40.5	like to go to online therapy. We also surveyed other people who use those services
1:44.9	too so that we could better understand what they liked, what they didn't like, and what their
1:49.2	overall thoughts were about each online therapy site. At first I was skeptical about whether
1:54.1	online therapy was going to be helpful, but I was kind of surprised by some of the things that
1:58.6	I learned. Online therapy certainly isn't for everyone, but it did offer some advantages over face-to-face
2:05.4	treatment.
2:06.5	Before I jump in, though, and share more about my opinions, let me tell you what the research
2:10.5	says.
2:11.6	For the most part, studies show online therapy is pretty effective.
2:15.9	One study from 2018 that was published in Journal of Psychological
	...

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