Online Counselling
Online counselling provides accessibility to clients who wouldn't ordinarily have been able to attend counselling in-person. It became extremely popular during the covid-19 pandemic and has remained a popular choice for clients to access the help that they need.
Online counselling is convenient as it allows you to access counselling with me from anywhere in the world (as long as you are in a safe and confidential setting) and this therefore enables you to find the counsellor that is best suited to you rather than one who lives close by and within travelling distance. Due to my specialism with working with people with chronic health issues/chronic pain, I have many clients from around the world who seek my help. So perhaps you travel a lot with work, have struggles that impact upon you leaving the house, have caring responsibilities or some other circumstance, online counselling could be suitable for you.
However, it is important to understand that online counselling is not suitable for everyone and sometimes in-person counselling would be advisable. If any of the following applies to you then online counselling won't be possible.
Is Online Counselling Suitable for You?
Online counselling won't be suitable if you:
- are a vulnerable adult or you have a history of severe mental illness
- are in crisis or feeling suicidal (if you feel you are at crisis point or contemplating ending your life then you should contact your doctor or go to your nearest accident and emergency department as soon as possible. Alternatively you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or your local crisis service which can be found on the internet). If you have already begun online counselling and experience a mental health crisis or become suicidal, online counselling will be suspended and I will discuss with you the appropriate support that you could access. This will possibly involve referring you to another organisation within your area, such as to your doctor's surgery, your local hospital or local crisis team or arranging to see you in person for counselling where possible
- are suffering with psychosis / losing touch with reality.
Counselling can be difficult, and you might feel distressed during our sessions. Should I become particularly concerned about the level of your distress, or have concerns that you or someone else is at risk of significant harm, then I will act accordingly. This might include contacting your next of kin or your GP to provide the additional services and support that I cannot.
What's Online Counselling Like?
Meeting someone on screen is of course different to meeting them in person, which can have both advantages and disadvantages. We can discuss these differences together should you wish to, and we will regularly review our work together to ensure that this means of contact is providing the support you need.
When working online, I use the same room that I would if we were meeting you in person. This way I know that I can work privately and maintain your confidentiality.
It is important that you do the same and ensure that your location is quiet and that we won’t be interrupted by other people, pets, telephones or screen activity such as message-alert pop-ups. Your may have a quiet, safe and confidential room in your home. But if you don't you may need to be a little creative e.g. a drive to a quiet and tranquil location where you can speak to me.
To this end, it is also essential that you use your own private device (not a public one at an internet cafe or library for example) in order that no-one else is able to look at the screen or hear your counselling session. If you share a computer, you may wish to password protect your personal desktop and clearing any search/ conversation history once a counselling session has ended, or even consider preventing others from using your computer.
Getting Online
If you are new to computing or using the internet, then online counselling may not be suitable for you. It is important that the use of technology doesn't get in the way of the counselling and so a basic understanding of using the internet, the ability to download the appropriate software is essential. It is also essential that you have good quality broadband to support the online connection.
The recommended technology is a video application called Zoom which is free and easy to use on a laptop, desktop computer, phone or tablet.
Contact me in confidence on 07999 858630 or
