Is Telehealth the Future of Therapy?

Posted: August 17, 2020

As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, many therapists have had to quickly pivot and offer their clients online sessions to continue to provide support while at the same time abide by the social distancing guidelines and protect the health of their clients and themselves.

While it seems most countries are slowly opening back up, many of us have learned something very important during this crisis: telehealth offers clients something very valuable, and that is therapy on THEIR terms.

Here are just some of the benefits of “virtual therapy”:

Privacy

Often, many people, especially those that live in smaller towns and cities, refuse to seek help from a therapist for fear people will find out. With telehealth, a patient can receive help from the comfort and privacy of their own home. This can be particularly helpful for therapists who treat teens and young adults who go to the same school/college and might feel embarrassed about seeking professional help.

Telehealth is a Time Saver

Not many of us ever feel we have enough time in the day to accomplish all that we need to. You will find your clients will appreciate telehealth because it saves them having to deal with traffic, scheduling in possible long drive times, and looking for parking.

Flexibility

I have found in my own practice that those clients who often require my services the most are the ones that are overworked and often have scheduling conflicts. Telehealth helps you to offer clients timeslots outside of regular hours that you may not normally have available.

Clients Show Up on Time

Therapists benefit from telehealth as well. In any given month, many clients may show up late to an appointment. When a session can begin with the simple mouse-click, timeliness is greatly improved.

These are only a handful of the benefits telehealth offers to both providers and patients. And while it will be a bit more time before clients and therapists fully embrace online therapy, the future looks bright.

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