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Rural or Remote Populations and Online Therapy

Anxiety

The information age has given us many ways to connect and stay connected with one another. Social media and the ease of instant communication wherever we are has given us unprecedented abilities to talk with one another. It has given us access to many thing, including healthcare. For people in rural or remote areas, having access to proper healthcare has been limited, and they would have to drive for hours to get to a doctor or therapist. This is not the case anymore.

The majority of the U.S population has access to the internet at home or at work. On average almost ¾ of the nation has access to the internet, with almost 70% having broadband connection in their home. And with smartphones, most of the country has access to the internet and online services in the palm of their hand.

This does unfortunately break down when it comes to poor, rural or remote areas of the nation. Here the percentage of people who have internet access drops to just about half, from three-quarters. It also cuts broadband or high-speed internet access as well, which is an inherent limitation to many internet sites, as well as being able to communicate online via video streaming.

This gets balanced out, however, by opening counseling to people that are not able to make it in to an office setting for a variety of reasons. Distance is a serious limitation, as well as the time it would take to get to a counseling appointment in another city, another county or another side of the state. The time needed to go for an hour session could be longer than the session itself for many in a rural population. It also helps those with health or mobility issues, that limits how much time they can be away from home or moving around. In short, this brings therapy to many people who need it.

Online counseling and therapy also gives people more options for counselors, that are not present for those in rural areas. There simply are not many counselors in a rural area, and if you do not want to see that person for any reason, you are stuck. Or if they cannot see you, they may not be seeing new clients or cannot meet on the only day you are free, this gives you options.

One final consideration for the use of online counseling is that it gives people in a rural area a better sense of privacy when they are talking to a therapist. Realistically, people in a small town know each other’s business, whether you want it to be so or not. If you do not want others to know you need to talk to someone about your anxiety, your past or for whatever reason, online counseling can give you that security you need.

Online counseling, especially in rural or remote areas, can give people the hope and help that they need, without traveling hours at a time. Although there are many limitations in rural areas, therapy online can give people the best chance they can at getting help and healing.

 

If you have been experiencing Depression please start a FREE trial of online counseling and get help today.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

Online Counseling Vs Face To Face

Anxiety

The world is always changing and with it changes the way services are delivered. Technology connects people like never before and allows them to do things that were previously impossible. It used to be that the only food delivery you could get was pizza or Chinese and if you wanted a hearty, chef-inspired restaurant cooked meal, you had to get dressed, drive to the restaurant, and stand for 30 minutes until a table became available. With the invention of apps and websites like GrubHub and DoorDash, you can have food from any restaurant you want delivered right to your door. Likewise with grocery shopping, buying clothes, and automatic delivery of your pet’s favorite food. Intangible services have also become more readily available. People are no longer limited to dating people that live in their neighborhood, book clubs can have members from around the world, professionals can give their opinions easily and to as many people as have access to a computer.

Along with the rest of the world, the way therapy and counseling is being delivered is also evolving. With the technology that is now at just about everyone’s fingertips, therapists and counselors can reach clients in ways they never could before. People now have options that were previously closed off to them. Getting good and proper mental health treatment is easier than ever for people all over the world and from all walks of life. Online therapy, or e-therapy, has made it possible to get mental health help from anywhere at anytime, making it more accessible than ever.

Is online counseling right for me?

People are asking themselves if online counseling is right for them, when the real question should just be “Is counseling right for me?” If the answer is yes, then the first thing to do is start looking for a therapist that matches your particular need. Do you need or desire frequent or regular contact?

When exploring online therapy for the first time, many potential clients are curious about what will be different. The short answer is that besides the method of delivery, online counseling works much like like traditional face-to-face therapy. Sessions are often structured the same way and achieve similar outcomes.

Just like with traditional therapy, it’s important to prepare for e-therapy by ensuring that the therapists you’re checking out have been licensed and are running a legitimate practice. Any licensed therapist—regardless of how he or she delivers their services—will have received extensive training in a variety of techniques. If there is a specific concern like PTSD, addiction recovery, or couple’s counseling, clients can and should research therapists who specialize in the relevant area. One advantage online therapy has vs face-to-face is that it can be much easier to find a therapist that specializes in whichever field the client needs, especially for people living in rural or underserved communities. For example, if a client is in need of therapy specifically to deal with symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, it’s “luck of the draw” whether there is a therapist with experience helping with OCD symptoms within a reasonable distance from the client’s home. Connecting with therapists online greatly increases options, making it more likely that each client can find the therapist that is the best fit for his or her specific and unique needs.

As for the therapeutic experience itself, once the initial period of adjustment to a new format is over, most people find it to be remarkably similar to face-to-face therapy. The objectives are identical: the clinician will work with the client to identify goals, the most appropriate therapy style (for example, cognitive-behavioral) will be selected, and the therapist and client will then begin working together within this framework. Just like with face-to-face therapy, e-therapy sessions may include journaling or creative assignments, worksheets, or selected readings.

As for talking remotely vs in the same room, the difference isn’t as big as most clients imagine. Clients have more options in how they talk to their therapist – the offer of messaging, live chat, phone, and video sessions give clients more choice. The quality of digital communication has increased so markedly in the last few years that online conversations are now happening with high quality visual resolution and excellent audio, making the experience as smooth and fluid as a face-to-face experience. In fact, multiple studies have shown very similar outcomes and patient satisfaction for online counseling compared to the face-to-face style. ean-therapy has some unique advantages, too. Besides skipping the drive and the waiting room, which can be crucial for those with busy schedules, some clients actually find it more comfortable to be in the familiar surroundings of home rather than a clinician’s office.

Another thing to consider is that online therapy often offers one option that traditional therapy does not: namely, more frequent access to the therapist. Unlike brick-and-mortar practices that simply charge a flat hourly rate for “face time”, many e-therapy practices include unlimited monthly access to the counselor via messaging. For people who feel comfortable with this kind of communication, or for those who would appreciate the extra support, e-therapy may be worth considering.

 

If you have been experiencing Depression please start a FREE trial of online counseling and get help today.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

Online Counseling for Health & Wellness

Anxiety

Most people think that counseling is only for people suffering from depression, anxiety, or maybe PTSD. The truth is that therapists can help with all kinds of problems, many of which overlap into the physical health and wellness areas. In fact, cognitive behavioral therapy can be useful for anyone looking to make a change, whether that be embarking on a weight loss plan, trying to stop a bad habit, or quitting smoking. In fact, statistics prove that behavioral changes like putting smoking are much more likely to “stick” when professional talk therapy is involved.

Counseling can also be useful for people dealing with a variety of health challenges, including injuries, cancer, heart disease, or even an illness or injury of a loved one. In all of these cases, professional support can help with fears or anxiety around a diagnosis, coping with medically-caused life changes, and even managing physical symptoms like pain. In fact, for people recovering from surgery or with limited mobility, online counseling is one way to improve treatment outcomes across the board, but especially when it comes to pain management. The opiate epidemic has made many doctors and patients alike wary of prescribing opiates for conditions like chronic pain; cognitive-behavioral therapy and other kinds of mindfulness work have been proven in studies to help improve pain and quality of life, while avoiding the pitfalls of narcotic pain medicine. Furthermore, for those dealing with medical challenges, E-therapy presents a unique advantage. Since a patient literally doesn’t even need to leave their bed to speak with a trained therapist, the benefits associated with a professional counselor are now accessible to virtually everyone regardless of physical mobility.

Online therapy is also applicable in other areas of “wellness.” Depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions can have very real physical effects on the body, including a weakened immune system, insomnia, and blood pressure or heart rare issues. Getting help for these conditions translates into a healthier physical body, too. For people attempting to manage psychiatric symptoms in multiple ways, like with diet and exercise, E-therapy might also be more convenient to fit into a schedule that is already getting full due to going to the gym and/or cooking healthy food from scratch. In turn, having ease of access to quality professional support via E-therapy can also help make other wellness goals more likely to last in the long-term.

 

If you have been experiencing Depression please start a FREE trial of online counseling and get help today.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

Is Online Counseling Right For You? Practical Considerations

Anxiety

One reason that remote counseling has become so popular is that it simply makes access to therapy dramatically easier and more convenient. Studies have shown that therapeutic outcomes and patient satisfaction are nearly identical between video chatting and face-to-face counseling sessions, meaning that E-therapy is a great choice for nearly everyone. That being said, geographic considerations are the most cut-and-dry reason why someone might seek out E-therapy for the first time. Simply put, many parts of America may simply not have easy access to quality practitioners. For people in rural parts of the country or anyone lacking their own vehicle or easy access to public transportation, being able to engage in talk therapy from home means that getting help has become much easier. In the past, long transport times and/or limited providers put many people “off” from trying to seek professional treatment, but this doesn’t have to be the case anymore. On a related note, people who desire a specific kind of counselor (eg. LGBTQ, African-American, other languages) have a much higher likelihood of finding exactly the right kind of therapist if they include online providers in their search. The same is true for clients who may have physical limitations that make getting to physical appointments difficult.

Online counseling may also be the right fit if you’re struggling with a busy schedule, have a family, or simply need to save time for other reasons. For parents of young children, getting therapy at home means that childcare doesn’t need to be a worry—something that can be a critical difference between whether or not therapy is realistic. E-therapy also eliminates the time and expense of commuting to appointments, while often allowing more scheduling flexibility than traditional practices, both of which can be great for busy students or professionals. Savings on childcare and commuting, along with the generally more affordable nature of E-therapy, can also mean that accessing therapy is finally a realistic option if online counseling is considered.

E-therapy is also a great choice for anyone else who is already comfortable with using video chat as a form of communication. Besides the practical considerations of distance and types of provider available, online therapy is also simply more convenient, and the idea of accessing therapeutic support online today is simply not as strange as it once may have been. For people with lots of experience communicating via the internet and smartphones, this form of communication is perfectly natural. In addition, many online therapy practices also offer extended access to the therapist via text message, a benefit that also may be appealing to people who are already using text messaging extensively in their lives.

 

If you have been experiencing Depression please start a FREE trial of online counseling and get help today.

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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.

Do You Need an Online Counselor or Therapist?

December 13, 2020

When trying to decide if e-therapy is right for you, the bigger question comes first: is it time to seek out the help of a professional counselor of any kind? While almost anyone could stand to benefit from the growth promoted by a course of therapy, there are many situations that can be readily improved by talk therapy. It may be time to seek the help of a therapist if:

  • Symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other problems are beginning to interfere with your quality of life or ability to carry out day-to-day activities. For example, therapy might be a great place to start for someone who has found their work performance slipping due to anxiety that is no longer simply manageable with exercise or another go-to coping skill.
  • There was a serious trauma like a sexual assault, natural disaster, or sudden death of a loved one. Therapy can help with both single-event traumas like a bad car accident along with longer-term situations, like childhood abuse or domestic violence.
  • You’re experiencing either chronic relationship problems (for example, codependence, trouble parenting), or a relationship crisis (infidelity, the possibility of divorce, etc). Therapy can also be helpful for people who struggle in other interpersonal situations with things like holding boundaries or asserting oneself.
  • A big life change is either on the horizon or already happening. This could range from deciding to lose significant weight, experiencing being fired or other professional difficulties, or even getting a major medical diagnosis.
  • It’s time to tackle substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. While therapy isn’t a substitute for detox or an inpatient rehabilitation program, it can be very helpful over the long term. There are specific kinds of therapists who can help support people in recovery, including those with a dual diagnosis. E-therapy in this arena can be particularly useful for those who are trying to recover from an addiction but need another option besides the local Alcoholics Anonymous group.
  • Any other situation requiring an adjustment, change in thinking/outlook, or a need for support beyond that which is available from family or friends.

Working with a professional through problems and painful emotions while learning new skills is a great way to begin improving your overall quality of life, along with relationships and even career. For anyone interested in starting this process with the help of a professional, e-therapy should be considered. Besides being a great way to find the precise kind of therapist needed regardless of location and schedule, online therapy gets nearly identical results as traditional therapy and has other upsides, too. Convenience, greater access to the therapist via text messaging, and privacy—all for what is often a lower cost than brick-and-mortar therapy, are valid reasons to consider using an E-therapist.
 

If you have been experiencing depression please start a FREE trial of online counseling and get help today.

Free Trial

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this post and any associated articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of eTherapyPro. These posts and articles are shared for your enjoyment and consideration. Read them or not at your sole discretion and liability. They are not intended to replace counseling services rendered by licensed professionals. Consult with your counselor before implementing any content from these articles into your life.