Is Online counseling A Step Forward Or Two Steps Back

The past few years have seen a growing awareness about issues of mental health. From Olympic champions like Michael Phelps to Tennis Grand Slam winner, Naomi Osaka, everyone has come out in the public domain about issues around anxiety and depression.

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting humanity significantly, a growing number of medical experts have turned to online and tele-counseling. Digital technologies and platforms have played a key role in helping patients connect with medical experts during the pandemic.

One area of medical expertise that has benefitted significantly from online integration has been developments in mental therapy. In other words, online therapy has opened up access to patients who have been struggling to deal with their mental health issues during the pandemic.

In this article, we are going to address a significant question that is often on the minds of many individuals is the following- is online counseling an effective treatment. If you are someone that is bothered about the relevance of online counseling this article will offer constructive solutions.

What is Online counseling?

In very simple words, online therapy or counseling is a form of the medical approach to mental health that is conducted through the internet. In online counseling, mental health patients connect with their therapists through online mediums like video calls, streaming platforms, and more.

Online therapy is called by many different names. Telemedicine, teletherapy, cybertherapy, etc. are some terms that have been interchangeably used to describe the practice. There is no doubt that the development of internet and network penetration has been able to positively impact online counseling.

In most parts of the world, prices of internet data, smartphone usage, and laptops/desktops, have become far more affordable. On top of this, people are more aware and willing to address topics on mental health. The stigma of coming out and acknowledging that a mental health problem exists is often the first step in seeking online therapy.

The Pros and Cons of Mental Health and the Effectiveness of Online Therapy

In this section, we are going to list down some of the major pros and cons of mental health. This will help us assess the effectiveness of online therapy in today’s world.

Pros of Online Therapy for Mental Health patients-

1. One of the first and probably the most important benefit of online therapy is accessibility. With social distancing norms in place, online therapy has allowed individuals to get timely help and medical intervention for their mental health problems.
2. In terms of comfort, the convenience of online therapy cannot be matched. You do not have to change, get dressed, take transportation, wait in a waiting room, etc. You simply click on the link, connect to the doctor, download the prescription, and it’s done!
3. Experts have also pointed out that many individuals that wish to hold on to their privacy and anonymity can do so with online therapy. There are people in some positions who wish to not disclose who they are. For them, online counseling is perfect.
4. While the fee structure stays the same in most situations, patients can benefit from zero travel costs. Over a period, especially when you have to see your therapist once a week, these costs can become significant. Increased savings on transport can help patients.

Cons of Online Therapy for Mental Health patients-

1. Online therapy does not allow mental experts to assess body language, look for negative feelings and learn a lot of other important things about the patient. This has been cited as one of the major drawbacks. Physical interactions are much more enriching.
2. The pandemic has allowed many who are looking to just earn by providing mental health counseling. Great doctors are licensed, certified, and trained. On online mediums, patients are not able to do figure out the expertise as well.
3. Lastly, using the internet and disclosing sensitive information online always has a cyber threat attached to it. The pandemic has seen cyber security issues grow exponentially. Your personal sensitive data on mental health can be compromised by cybercriminals.

Is Online Therapy here to stay?

Most experts agree that the benefits of online therapy and counseling far exceed their potential drawbacks. With proper securitization, some aspects of cybersecurity can be resolved. Likewise, doing proper research around the mental health expert can allow you to get in touch with authentic and certified professionals.

Many point out that it was the COVID-19 Pandemic that proved to be a shot in the arm for online therapy. Previously, there were quite a lot of reservations that individuals had when it came to telemedicine and its approaches.

Most medical authorities in different countries did not formally recognize the practice. However, the pandemic and its effects on the health infrastructure proved that this can be a great approach to help patients discreetly, remotely, and with proper safety and security.

While access to online therapy is a positive step in the right direction, experts point out that three things should be emphasized-

1. Quality- Mental healthcare professionals should ensure that they can give the same level of attention to the patients as they did during physical sessions. Compromising quality lowers the kind of effect and implication on a diagnosis of the experts. Patients should also be proactive enough to ensure that this happens.
2. Security- Cybercrimes are real and affect everyone from billion-dollar corporations to normal human beings. There are definite security risks that are involved when disclosing your mental health concerns online. Make sure to always use a secure internet connection and not public Wi-Fi for your online therapy sessions.
3. Privacy- There is always an element of confidentiality when issues of mental health are concerned. Both patients and their therapists need to work towards ensuring that the privacy of the engagement is maintained. Make sure to store the prescriptions and case notes safely and securely. The privacy should be prioritized in online counseling.

The Bottom Line

If you are someone that is looking to look at the effectiveness of online therapy, you should not be too worried. By following some of the safe practices mentioned in the article in the opening sections, you can take an informed decision on the subject. If you would like us to assist you in any way on issues of mental health, please let us know in the comments below. We would be more than happy to aid and assist you in any way possible.