How online therapy can help you take care of your mental health
Therapy is becoming more widespread than ever. The increase in people seeking therapy is so marked that, even with record numbers of therapists being trained, demand for therapists still exceeds supply. Gone are the days when therapy was stigmatised by some, mental health wasn’t discussed and many people saw common mental health issues as “just part of life”. Thanks to technology and global mental health awareness campaigns, people are becoming better informed. We now understand that common mental health issues impact us all. They impact many areas of our lives and affect our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. As awareness of the importance of mental health has developed so has society’s level of support for services that aim to help.
Despite better awareness, there is still some reluctance from people to start therapy. For some, it is the financial aspect or the lack of time to travel to their regular counselling sessions. For others, it’s the lack of therapists or counsellors in their vicinity or simply just not feeling comfortable to walk into a stranger’s office and pour their heart out. This makes online therapy the perfect platform for those who value privacy, affordability and accessibility.
Although telephone therapy has been around since the mid-’80s, online video therapy has seen a huge boom during the pandemic. Although a big change at first, many clients and therapists have not only found online video sessions to be as clinically effective as in-person therapy but now recognise a number of benefits to the online format. The pandemic forced the entire world into isolation and created a spike in depression and anxiety, two of the most common mental health problems. This highlighted the importance of taking care of your mental health, no matter who you are, and online therapy has provided the opportunity to do so.
Why mental health is important
According to studies, depression is the most common mental health problem in the world. In the UK, 1 out of 6 people experience common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, on a weekly basis.
Mental health issues can develop at any point throughout our lives and are sometimes triggered by certain life events or gradual life changes. Others can be caused by experiencing a sudden traumatic episode such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, or an assault. Contributing factors such as work stress, financial pressures or the resurfacing of traumatic childhood experiences can also affect our mental health and wellbeing.
Your mental health can affect your relationships, ability to work, how you function in and contribute to society, and your physical health. Your mental health and physical health are linked; neglecting one can have lasting detrimental effects on the other.
We all know that exercising your body is vital to your physical health. More and more people are coming to understand that it is crucial to apply the same principles to your mind. Prioritising your mental health isn’t easy, but it can help in many ways and areas of your life.
How do I know if I need therapy?
People go to therapy for various reasons and you certainly don’t need to have been diagnosed by a doctor to see a therapist. Many see therapy as a space to reflect, vent, think, process and develop their self-understanding.
Whether you’re experiencing family or relationship issues, struggling with your self-esteem, or find yourself suffering from anxiety and low mood, regular counselling sessions can be extremely beneficial. It’s like seeing a personal trainer in the gym. Some reasons you might decide to start therapy are:
- Relationship issues
- Lack of motivation at work
- Thoughts of harming yourself
- Not feeling good enough/self-criticism
- Bereavement
- Anxiety & worry
- Addiction
Many of us don’t even realise that we are suffering from common mental health issues, or that there is help available. It’s easy to think that depression is something “clinical”, but most of us experience and are affected by it. The same is true of anxiety – even if we don’t feel anxious ourselves we will almost certainly know someone who does.
Additionally, the pace of modern life today, and its expectations, can often leave us feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Social media has us constantly comparing our lives to the curated lives of others and this can lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction, low self-esteem or hopelessness and despair. This can have a direct impact on your sleeping habits, relationships and your health.
Therapy isn’t a quick-fix cure, and it’s not about someone doing something to you. Therapy is about providing a safe, secure environment with someone facilitating your own journey to unlock the answers within you. It can help you learn how to integrate your thoughts and emotions. It can help you discover new choices or ways of relating in situations where previously there seemed to be none.
Types of therapy
“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.” Galileo Galilei
Once you’ve decided to take the positive step towards improving your mental wellbeing, you need to decide what type of therapy you need. The wealth of information, medical terms and industry jargon out there can be overwhelming. Each type of therapy is defined by the way it is delivered, what techniques are applied during therapy and the philosophy it’s based on. Broadly speaking, most therapy fits into one of 3 broad schools or modalities (although there are others):
The three most common schools of therapy are:
Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy helps you discover and explore how your unconscious mind and past experiences affect you in the present. It’s about discovering how you came to be the unique person you are today and processing the past to give you freedom in the present. It does this by exploring the processes that come up during therapy and exploring emotions, thought patterns and ways of relating to the world and to others. You might benefit from psychodynamic therapy if you want to explore past trauma, events from childhood or suffer from longer-term depression or anxiety, substance abuse or complex existential thinking.
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
CBT explores how thought, emotion and behaviour are linked. It gives clients the opportunity to break down their thinking patterns, understand them and re-program the unhelpful thoughts which can lead to changes in emotions and behaviour. CBT is highly effective at creating short-term behavioural change. It is the preferred form of therapy for the NHS, as it shows results in shorter time periods, often within 6 or 12 sessions. It is excellent for certain conditions such as acute focussed anxiety, eating disorders, OCD and any negative behavioural patterns. It is often less focussed on “deeper” emotional or longer-term work.
Humanistic therapy
Humanistic therapy is about helping you to identify your true and authentic self. Your therapist will work with what’s happening in the here and now and guide you on your therapeutic journey of self-discovery. Getting in touch with the emotions you are feeling, identifying why and how you make your choices in life and starting to understand your own needs are just some of the things you may touch on. You might benefit from Humanistic therapy if you suffer from low self-esteem or depression, or are looking to process and get in touch with difficult feelings and emotions.
Benefits of online counselling
The world is changing. With the help of technology, more and more businesses have moved online and can operate, for the most part, completely independent of their location. You can shop online, order food online, do online banking, attend classes or meetings via video call, so why not do online counselling?
With mental health awareness on the rise, a lot more people are seeking therapy, and there aren’t always enough counsellors in their vicinity. Online therapy grants you access to counsellors outside of your geographical location. This in itself has many benefits for people who struggle with mobility or cannot travel and for those who can’t afford the rates of their local therapists.
Attending a counselling session from the comfort of your own home provides an extra sense of privacy and safety. Added to that is the emergence of specialist online services such as Choose Therapy, offering affordable counselling sessions; meaning you can attend more sessions than you would have otherwise.
There is no doubt that online therapy is resulting in more people with mental health issues getting the help they need when they need it.
How does online therapy work?
Thanks to technology, you can now attend an online therapy session in any private space where you feel comfortable – whether that be your home, in your office etc. As long as you have a quiet, private space where you don’t feel like you need to hold back with what you share. You will also need a device such as your phone or a laptop to speak with your therapist and a decent internet connection. With all of the above, there is no reason why you can’t start taking care of your mental health immediately.
Different therapists use various online platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype etc. Choose Therapy uses a secure telemedicine platform called HeyDoc, which is used by leading private healthcare providers, keeping both your session and your personal information completely private.
Most places allow you to book a session directly through their website. In many cases, you will do an initial assessment, so they can learn more about you, establish what it is you would want to explore during therapy and see if you are the right fit for each other. Once you feel comfortable that you are indeed ready to commit to online therapy, you can book your session and start your journey towards mental wellbeing.
Finding the right therapist for you
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no one recipe for living that suits all cases.” – Carl Jung
Therapy is a highly personal journey and different to each individual. There is no one-size-fits-all, so it’s important to find the right therapist for you. Your therapist should be someone you feel safe enough with to truly open up and be your most honest, authentic self. They should provide a safe, non-judgemental space to explore both the challenges you are facing and parts of yourself that even you might not feel very familiar with.
Can I afford online counselling?
If you were to ask the professionals, they would tell you that you can’t afford not to do counselling. Unfortunately, the stark reality is that in middle-to-lower income households, healthcare and mental health care is often out of reach.
Even with free health care through the NHS, counselling sessions are not always available and when they are, are offered on a very limited basis. Long waiting lists are sadly not uncommon. There are a few community charities in the UK that offer counselling sessions, but due to the need, the waiting list can be up to a year long. Private insurance doesn’t always cover therapy, so paying out of pocket can get quite expensive, with the average session ranging between £65 – £150. Depending on your location, and the therapist, you can pay up to £250+ per session.
This is what makes affordable online therapy such a viable option for people who are serious about taking care of their mental health. No longer bound by geographical location, you can book a therapy session for as little as £36.
Therapy can now be accessible and affordable and can provide you with the safety and privacy to improve your mental health from the comfort of your own home. Whether you choose to do therapy or not, we encourage you to take your mental health and wellbeing seriously and reach out to a family or loved ones for help. You are never alone.
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