⚖️How can therapists improve online sessions?

This is the fourth post in the series on Challenges in Online Therapy. Read Part 1- What we lose in online therapy and Part 2- What happens with our focus in online work and Part 3- What do client lose without travel time?

Improving the therapeutic effectiveness of online sessions requires extra care and attention. Here are some things you can do-

• Transition Time: Set aside 15 minutes before and after the therapy sessions. These buffers can allow you to be more present in the therapy space, especially when other professional or personal work might be fighting for your attention.

• Virtual waiting room feature: Use of this feature can mimick the offline version of therapist ‘letting the client in’.

• Earphones: Difficulties in hearing each other can impact the quality of ‘presence’ in online sessions. Therefore, invest in good, noise cancelling earphones.

• Plan B for connection difficulties: Have set processes on what happens if there are connectivity issues- do you shift to a different platform? which one? who initiates the shift?

• Backup battery and connection: Consider investing in an inverter/UPS if power cuts can become a potential disruptor. I have also found it helpful to use mobile internet as backup in case the wifi acts up.

Have more ideas? Write to me.

Until next week,
Suvrita

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